E.  PHILLIPS 


?4- 
:t     6q 


THE  PROFITEERS 


Wingate's  pistol  had  stolen  from  his  pocket.     Rees  glared 

at  it  for  a  moment  and  then  went  on. 

FRONTISPIECE.     See  page  259. 


THE  PROFITEERS 


BY 


E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 


WITH  FRONTISPIECE  BY 

MARSHALL  FRANTZ 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

1921 


Copyright,  19S1, 
Br  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPAHYC 


All  rights  reserved 
Published  June,  1921 


THE  COLONIAL  PRESS 
C  H.  SIMONDS  CO.,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


The  author  desires  to  express  his  indebtedness  to 
Mr.  Worton  David  for  a  suggestion  with  regard  to 
one  of  the  scenes  in  this  story. 


2137488 


THE  PROFITEERS 

CHAPTER  1 

The  Marchioness  of  Amesbury  was  giving  a  gar- 
den party  in  the  spacious  but  somewhat  urban 
grounds  of  her  mansion  in  Kensington.  Perhaps 
because  it  was  the  first  affair  of  its  sort  of  the  sea- 
son, and  perhaps,  also,  because  Cecilia  Amesbury 
had  the  knack  of  making  friends  in  every  walk  of 
life,  it  was  remarkably  well  attended.  Two  stock- 
brokers, Roger  Kendrick  and  his  friend  Maurice 
White,  who  had  escaped  from  the  City  a  little  earlier 
than  usual,  and  had  shared  a  taxicab  up  west,  con- 
gratulated themselves  upon  having  found  a  quiet 
and  shady  seat  where  iced  drinks  were  procurable 
and  the  crush  was  not  so  great. 

"Anything  doing  in  your  market  to-day?  "  Ken- 
drick asked  his  younger  asso.ciate. 

White  made  a  little  grimace. 

"B.  &  L,  B.  &  I.,  all  the  time,"  he  grumbled. 
"  I'm  sick  of  the  name  of  the  damned  things.  And 
to  tell  you  the  truth,  Ken,  when  a  client  asks  for  my 
advice  about  them,  I  don't  know  what  to  say." 


2  THE  PROFITEERS 

Kendrick  contemplated  the  tips  of  his  patent 
boots.  He  was  a  well-looking,  well-turned-out  and 
well-to-do  representative  of  the  occupation  which 
he,  his  father  and  grandfather  had  followed,  —  ten 
years  older,  perhaps,  than  his  companion,  but  re- 
markably well-preserved.  He  had  made  money  and 
kept  it. 

"  They  say  that  Rockefeller's  at  the  back  of 
them,"  he  remarked. 

"  They  may  say  what  they  like  but  who's  to  prove 
it  ?  "  his  young  companion  argued.  "  They  must 
have  enormous  backing,  of  course,  but  until  they 
declare  it,  I'm  not  pushing  the  business.  Look  at 
the  Board  on  their  merits,  Ken." 

Roger  Kendrick  nodded.  Every  one  on  the 
Stock  Exchange  was  interested  in  B.  &  I.'s,  and  he 
settled  himself  down  comfortably  to  hear  what  his 
companion  had  to  say  on  the  matter. 

"  There's  old  Dreadnought  Phipps,"  White  con- 
tinued, "  Peter  Phipps,  to  give  him  his  right  name. 
Well,  has  ever  a  man  who  aspires  to  be  considered  a 
financial  giant  had  such  a  career?  He  was 
broken  on  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  went  to 
Montreal  and  made  a  million  or  so,  back  to  New 
York,  where  he  got  in  with  the  copper  lot  and  no 
doubt  made  real  money.  Then  he  went  for  that 
wheat  corner  in  Chicago.  He  got  out  of  that  with 


THE  PROFITEERS  3 

another  fortune,  though  they  say  he  sold  his  fel- 
low directors.  Now  he  turns  up  here,  chairman  of 
the  B.  &  I.,  who  must  have  bought  fifty  million 
pounds'  worth  of  wheat  already  this  year.  Well, 
unless  he's  considerably  out  of  his  depth,  he  must 
have  some  one  else's  money  to  play  with  besides  his 
own." 

"  Let  me  see,  who  are  the  other  directors  ?  "  Ken- 
drick  enquired. 

"  Well,  there's  young  Stanley  Rees,  Phipps' 
nephew,  who  came  in  for  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds  a  few  years  ago,"  Maurice  White  answered ; 
"  old  skinflint  Martin,  who  may  be  worth  half  a  mil- 
lion but  certainly  not  more;  and  Dredlinton. 
Dredlinton's  rabbit,  of  course.  He  hasn't  got  a 
bob.  There's  money  enough  amongst  the  rest  for 
any  ordinary  business  undertaking,  if  only  one 
could  understand  what  the  mischief  they  were  up 
to.  They  can't  corner  wheat  in  this  country." 

"  I  wonder,  "  Kendrick  murmured.  "  The  har- 
vests last  year  were  bad  all  over  the  world,  you 
know,  and  this  year,  except  in  the  States  and  Can- 
ada, they  will  be  worse.  With  another  fifty  million 
it  might  be  done.  " 

"  But  they're  taking  deliveries,  "  White  pointed 
out.  "  They  have  granaries  all  over  the  kingdom, 
and  subsidiary  companies  to  do  the  dirty  work  of 


4  THE  PROFITEERS 

refusing  to  sell.  Already  they  say  that  three 
quarters  of  the  wheat  of  the  country  is  in  their 
hands,  and  mind  you,  they  sell  nothing.  The  price 
goes  up  and  up,  just  the  same  as  the  price  of  their 
shares  has  risen.  They  buy  but  they  never  sell. 
Some  of  the  big  banks  must  be  helping,  of  course, 
but  I  know  one  or  two  —  one  in  particular  —  who 
decline  to  handle  any  business  from  them  at  all.  " 

"I  should  say  their  greatest  risk  was  Govern- 
ment interference, "  Kendrick  observed.  "  Gam- 
bling in  foodstuffs  ought  to  be  forbidden.  " 

"  It  would  take  our  Government  a  year  to  make 
up  their  minds  what  to  do,"  White  scoffed,  "  and  by 
that  time  these  fellows  would  have  sold  out  and  be 
on  to  something  else.  " 

"  Well,  it's  too  hot  for  shop,"  Kendrick  yawned. 
"  I  think  I  shall  cut  work  on  Friday  and  have  a 
long  week-end  at  Sandwich.  " 

"  I  have  a  good  mind  to  do  the  same,"  his  compan- 
ion declared.  "  And  as  to  B.  &  I's.,  there's  money 
to  be  made  out  of  them  one  way  or  the  other,  but  I 
shall  advise  my  clients  not  to  touch  them.  —  Hullo, 
we're  discovered !  Here's  Sarah.  " 

The  young  lady  in  question,  escorted  by  a  pink- 
complexioned,  somewhat  bored-looking  young  man, 
who  cheered  up  at  the  sight  of  the  iced  drinks, 
greeted  the  two  friends  with  a  smile.  She  was  at- 


THE  PROFITEERS  5 

tired  in  the  smartest  of  garden-party  frocks,  her 
brown  eyes  were  clear  and  attractive,  her  complex- 
ion freckled  but  pleasant,  her  mouth  humorous,  a 
suggestion  which  was  further  carried  out  by  her 
slightly  retrousse  nose.  She  seemed  to  bring  with 
her  an  agreeable  atmosphere  of  wholesome  things. 

"  You  shall  advise  your  clients  not  to  touch 
what?  "  she  enquired.  "  Are  there  any  tips  going?  " 

Kendrick  shook  his  head. 

"  You  stick  to  the  tips  your  clients  slip  into  your 
hand,  my  dear  young  lady,  "  he  advised,  "  and  don't 
dabble  in  what  you  don't  understand.  The  Stock 
Exchange  is  a  den  of  thieves,  and  Maurice  here  and 
I  are  two  of  the  worst  examples.  " 

Miss  Sarah  Baldwin  made  a  little  grimace. 

"  My  clients  are  such  a  mean  lot, "  she  com- 
plained. "  Now  that  they  have  got  over  the  novelty 
of  being  driven  in  a  taxicab  by  a  woman,  they  are 
positively  stingy.  Even  Jimmy  here  only  gave  me 
a  sovereign  for  picking  him  up  at  St.  James'  Street, 
waiting  twenty  minutes  at  his  tailor's,  and  bringing 
him  on  here.  What  is  it  that  you're  going  to  advise 
your  clients  to  leave  alone,  please,  Mr.  White?  " 

"  British  and  Imperial  Granaries.  " 

The  young  man  —  the  Honourable  James  Wil- 
shaw  —  suddenly  dropped  his  eyeglass  and  assumed 
an  anxious  expression. 


6  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  say,  what's  wrong  with  them,  White?  M  he  de- 
manded. "  They're  large  holders  of  wheat,  and 
wheat's  going  up  all  the  time." 

"  Wheat's  going  up  because  they're  buying, " 
was  the  dry  comment.  "  Directly  they  leave  off  it 
will  drop,  and  when  it  begins  to  drop,  look  out  for  a 
slump  in  B.  &  I's.  " 

The  young  man  relapsed  into  a  seat  by  Sarah's 
side  and  swung  an  immaculately  trousered  leg. 

"  But  look  here,  Maurice,  my  boy,  why  should 
they  leave  off  buying,  eh?  "  he  enquired. 

"  Because,"  the  other  explained,  "  there  is  a  lit- 
tle more  wheat  in  the  world  than  the  B.  &  I.  have 
money  for.  " 

"  I  can  give  you  a  further  reason, "  Kendrick  in- 
tervened, "  for  leaving  B.  &  I.'s  severely  alone. 
There  is  at  the  present  moment  on  his  way  to  this 
country  —  if  he  is  not  already  here,  by  the  by  — 
one  of  the  shrewdest  and  finest  speculators  in  the 
world,  who  is  coming  over  on  purpose  to  do  what 
up  to  now  our  own  men  seem  to  have  funked  —  fight 
the  B.  &  I.  tooth  and  nail.  " 

"Who's  that,  Ken?"  Maurice  White  asked  with 
interest.  "  Why  haven't  I  heard  about  him  be- 
fore? " 

"  Because,"  Kendrick  replied,  "  he  wrote  and  told 
me  that  he  was  coming  and  marked  his  letter  '  Pri- 


THE  PROFITEERS  7 

vate, '  so  I  thought  that  I  had  better  keep  it  to  my- 
self. His  boat  was  due  in  Liverpool  several  days 
ago,  though,  so  I  suppose  that  any  one  who  is  inter- 
ested knows  all  about  his  coming  by  this  time.  " 

"  But  his  name?  "  Sarah  demanded.  "  Why  don't 
you  tell  us  his  name  and  all  about  him?  I  love 
American  millionaires  who  do  things  in  Wall  Street 
and  fight  with  billions.  If  he's  really  nice,  he  may 
take  me  off  your  hands,  Jimmy.  " 

"  I'd  like  to  see  him  try, "  that  young  man 
growled,  with  unexpected  fierceness. 

"  Well,  his  name  is  John  Philip  Wingate,  "  Ken- 
drick  told  them.  "  He  started  life,  I  believe,  as  a 
journalist.  Then  he  inherited  a  fortune  and  made 
another  one  on  Wall  Street,  where  I  imagine  he 
came  across  Dreadnought  Phipps.  What  hap- 
pened I  don't  exactly  know,  "  he  went  on  rumina- 
tively.  "  Phipps  couldn't  have  squeezed  him,  or  we 
should  have  heard  about  it,  but  somehow  or  other 
the  two  got  at  loggerheads,  for  it's  common  knowl- 
edge amongst  their  business  connections  —  I  don't 
know  that  they  have  any  friends  —  that  Wingate 
has  sworn  to  break  Phipps.  There  will  be  quite  a 
commotion  in  the  City  when  it  gets  about  that  Win- 
gate  is  here  or  on  his  way  over.  " 

"  It's  almost  like  a  romance,  "  Sarah  declared,  as 
she  took  the  ice  which  her  cavalier  had  brought  her 


8  THE  PROFITEERS 

and  settled  down  once  more  in  her  chair.  "  Tell  me 
more  about  Mr.  Wingate,  please.  Mr.  Phipps  I 
know,  of  course,  and  he  doesn't  seem  in  the  least  ter- 
rifying. Is  Mr.  Wingate  like  that  or  is  he  a  dourer 
type?" 

"  John  Wingate,  "  Kendrick  said  reflectively,  "  is 
a  much  younger  man  than  Phipps  —  I  should  say 
that  he  wasn't  more  than  thirty-five  —  and  much 
better-looking.  I  must  say  that  in  a  struggle  I 
shouldn't  know  which  to  back.  Wingate  has  senti- 
ment and  Phipps  has  none;  conscience  of  which 
Phipps  hasn't  a  shred,  and  a  sense  of  honour  with 
which  Phipps  was  certainly  never  troubled.  These 
points  are  all  against  him  in  a  market  duel,  but  on 
the  other  hand  he  has  a  bigger  outlook  than  Phipps, 
he  has  nerves  of  steel  and  the  grit  of  a  hero.  Did  I 
tell  you,  by  the  by,  that  he  went  into  the  war  as  a 
private  and  came  out  a  brigadier?  " 

"  Splendid !  "  Sarah  murmureH.  "  Now  tell  us 
where  Peter  Phipps  conies  in?  " 

"  Well,  "  Kendrick  continued,  "  Phipps  attracts 
sympathy  because  of  his  lavish  hospitality  and  ap- 
parent generosity,  whilst  Wingate  is  a  man  of  many 
reserves  and  has  few  friends,  either  on  this  side  or 
the  other.  Then  Phipps,  I  should  say,  is  the 
wealthier  man,  and  in  this  present  deal,  at  any  rate, 
he  has  marvellous  support,  so  that  financially  he 


THE  PROFITEERS  9 

must  tower  over  Wingate.  Then,  too,  I  think  he 
understands  the  tricks  of  the  market  better  over  here, 
and  he  has  a  very  dangerous  confederate  in  Skinflint 
Martin.  What  that  old  blackguard  doesn't  know 
of  chicanery  and  crooked  dealing,  the  devil  himself 
couldn't  make  use  of.  If  he's  put  his  own  money 
into  B.  &  I.,  I  should  say  that  Phipps  can't  be 
broken.  My  advice  to  Wingate,  at  any  rate,  when 
we  meet,  will  be  to  stand  by  for  a  time.  " 

The  sound  of  approaching  voices  warned  them 
that  their  seclusion  was  on  the  point  of  being 
broken  into.  Their  hostess,  an  elderly  lady  of 
great  social  gifts  and  immense  volubility,  appeared, 
having  for  her  escort  a  tall,  well-groomed  man  of 
youthful  middle-age,  with  the  square  jaw  and 
humorous  gleam  in  his  grey  eyes  of  the  best  trans- 
Atlantic  type.  Lady  Amesbury  beamed  upon  them 
all. 

"  Just  the  people  I  was  looking  for ! "  she  ex- 
claimed. "  I  want  you  all  to  know  my  great  friend, 
Mr.  Wingate  from  New  York.  " 

Every  one  was  glad  to  meet  Wingate,  and  Ken- 
drick  and  he  exchanged  the  greetings  of  old  friends. 

"  Xow  you  have  found  some  one  whom  you  can 
talk  to,  my  dear  John,  "  his  hostess  declared.  "  I 
shall  consider  you  off  my  hands  for  the  afternoon. 
Come  and  dine  with  me  next  Sunday  night,  and 


io  THE  PROFITEERS 

don't  lose  your  heart  to  Sarah  Baldwin.  She's  a 
capricious  little  minx,  and,  besides,  she's  engaged  to 
Jimmy  there,  though  heaven  knows  whether  they'll 
ever  get  married.  —  There !  I  knew  it !  My  own 
particular  Bishop  being  lured  into  conversation  with 
Hilda  Sutton,  who's  just  become  a  freethinker  and 
can't  talk  of  anything  else.  It  will  spoil  the  dear 
man's  afternoon  if  she  gets  really  started.  —  Good- 
by,  all  of  you.  Take  care  of  Mr.  Wingate.  " 

She  hurried  off,  and  the  newcomer  seated  himself 
between  Kendrick  and  Sarah. 

« We've  just  been  hearing  all  about  you,  Mr. 
Wingate, "  Sarah  began,  "  but  I  must  say  you're 
the  last  person  we  expected  to  see  here.  We  imag- 
ined you  dashing  in  a  great  motor-car  from  Liver- 
pool to  your  office  in  the  City,  dictating  letters, 
speaking  into  the  telephone,  and  doing  all  sorts  of 
violent  things.  I  don't  believe  Mr.  Kendrick  told 
us  the  truth  about  you  at  all." 

Wingate  smiled  good-humouredly. 

"  Tell  me  what  Kendrick  has  been  saying,  and  I 
will  let  you  know  whether  it  is  the  truth  or  not, " 
he  promised. 

"  Well,  he  has  just  given  us  a  thrilling  picture  of1 
you, "  she  went  on,  coming  over  here  armed  cap-a- 
pie  to  do  battle  for  the  romance  of  money.     Already 
we  were  picturing  to  ourselves  poor  Dreadnought 


THE  PROFITEERS  n 

Phipps,  the  first  of  your  victims,  seeking  for  an  asy- 
lum in  the  Stock  Exchange  Almshouses ;  and  the 
other  desperado  —  what  was  his  name?  Skinflint 
Martin?  —  on  his  knees  before  you  while  you  read 
him  a  moral  lecture  on  the  evils  of  speculation.  " 

Wingate's  eyes  twinkled. 

"  From  all  of  which  I  judge  that  you  have  been 
discussing  the  British  and  Imperial  Granaries,  "  he 
remarked. 

"  Our  dear  young  friend,  Miss  Baldwin,  "  Ken- 
drick  said,  "  has  a  vivid  imagination  and  a  wonder- 
ful gift  of  picturesque  similies.  Still,  I  have  just 
been  telling  them  that  one  reason  why  I  wouldn't 
touch  B.  &  I.'s  is  because  they  have  an  idea  over 
here  that  you  are  going  to  have  a  shy  at  them.  " 

"  My  attitude  toward  the  company  in  question  is 
certainly  an  unfriendly  one, "  Wingate  admitted. 
"  I  hate  all  speculations  the  basis  of  which  is  ut- 
terly selfish.  Dealing  in  foodstuffs  is  one  of  them. 
But,  Miss  Baldwin,  "  he  went  on,  turning  towards 
her,  "  why  do  we  talk  finance  on  such  a  wonderful 
afternoon,  and  so  far  away  from  the  City  ?  I  really 
came  over  from  the  States  to  get  an  occasional  cock- 
tail, order  some  new  clothes  and  see  some  plays. 
What  theatres  do  you  advise  me  to  go  to?  " 

"  I  can  tell  you  plenty,  "  she  answered,  "  which  I 
should  advise  you  to  stay  away  from.  It  is  quite 


12  THE  PROFITEERS 

easy  to  see,  Mr.  Wingate,  that  you  have  been  away 
from  London  quite  a  long  time.  You  are  not  in  the 
least  in  touch  with  us.  On  the  Stock  Exchange 
they  do  little,  nowadays,  I  am  told,  but  invent 
stories  which  the  members  can  tell  only  to  other 
men's  wives,  and  up  in  the  west  we  do  little  else  ex- 
cept talk  finance.  The  money  we  used  to  lose  at 
auction  bridge  now  all  goes  to  our  brokers.  We 
worry  the  lives  out  of  our  men  friends  by  contin- 
ually craving  for  tips.  " 

"  Dear  me, "  Wingate  remarked,  "  I  had  no  idea 
things  were  as  bad  as  that.  " 

"  Now  what,  "  Sarah  asked  ingratiatingly,  "  is 
your  honest  opinion  about  British  and  Imperial 
Granaries?  " 

"  If  I  gave  it  to  you,  "  Wingate  replied,  "  my 
opinion  would  be  the  only  honest  thing  about  it.  " 

"  Then  couldn't  one  do  some  good  by  selling  a 
bear  of  them  ?  "  she  enquired  sagely. 

"  You  would  do  yourself  and  every  one  else  more 
good  by  not  dealing  in  them  at  all,  "  Wingate  ad- 
vised. "  The  whole  thing  is  a  terrible  gamble.  " 

"  When  did  you  arrive? "  Kendrick  enquired. 
"  Have  you  been  in  the  City  yet  ?  " 

Wingate  shook  his  head. 

"  I  have  spent  the  last  two  days  in  the  north  of 
England,  "  he  replied.  "  I  was  rather  interested  in 


THE  PROFITEERS  13 

having  a  glance  at  conditions  there.  I  only  ar- 
rived in  London  last  night." 

"  But  this  morning?  "  Sarah  asked  him.  "  You 
don't  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  had  strength  of  mind 
enough  to  keep  away  from  the  City  ?  " 

"  I  certainly  do.  I  did  not  even  telephone  to  my 
brokers.  Kendrick  here  knows  that,  for  he  is  one 
of  the  firm.  " 

"  Then  what  did  you  do  ?  "  Sarah  persisted.  "  I 
can't  imagine  you  spending  your  first  morning  in 
idleness.  " 

"  You  might  have  called  it  idleness ;  I  didn't,  "  he 
answered,  smiling.  "  I  had  my  hair  cut  and  my  nails 
manicured;  I  was  measured  for  four  new  suits  of 
clothes,  a  certain  number  of  shirts,  and  I  bought 
some  other  indispensable  trifles.  " 

"  Dear  me,  "  Sarah  murmured,  "  you  aren't  at  all 
the  sort  of  man  I  thought  you  were  !  " 

"Why  not?" 

"  You  don't  seem  energetic.  I  should  have 
thought,  even  if  you  weren't  supposed  to  buy  or  sell, 
that  you  would  have  been  all  round  the  markets, 
enquiring  about  B.  &  I.'s  this  morning.  " 

"  I  read  the  papers  instead,  "  he  replied.  "  One 
can  learn  a  good  deal  from  the  papers.  " 

"  You  Avill  find  rather  a  partial  Press  where  B.  & 
I.'s  are  concerned,"  Kendrick  observed. 


i4  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  have  already  noticed  it, "  was  the  brief  reply. 
"  Still,  even  the  Press  must  live,  I  suppose.  " 

"  Cynic !  "  Sarah  murmured. 

"  Might  one  ask,  without  being  impertinent, " 
Maurice  White  enquired,  addressing  Wingate  for 
the  first  time,  "  what  is  your  real  opinion  concern- 
ing the  directors  of  the  B.  &  I?  " 

Wingate  answered  him  deliberately. 

"  I  am  scarcely  a  fair  person  to  ask, "  he  said, 
"  because  Peter  Phipps  is  a  personal  enemy  of  mine. 
However,  since  you  have  asked  the  question,  I  should 
say  that  Phipps  is  utterly  unscrupulous  and  pos- 
sesses every  qualification  of  a  blackguard.  Rees, 
his  nephew,  is  completely  under  his  thumb,  occupy- 
ing just  the  position  he  might  be  supposed  to  hold. 
Skinflint  Martin  ought  to  have  died  in  penal  ser- 
vitude years  ago,  and  as  for  Dredlinton  —  " 

Wingate  was  quick  to  scent  disaster.  He  broke 
off  abruptly  in  his  sentence  just  as  a  tall,  pale, 
beautifully  gowned  woman  who  had  detached  herself 
from  a  group  close  at  hand  turned  towards  them. 

"  It  is  Lady  Dredlinton, "  Kendrick  whispered  in 
his  ear. 

"  Then  I  will  only  say, "  Wingate  concluded, 
"  that  Lord  Dredlinton's  commercial  record  scarcely 
entitles  him  to  a  seat  on  the  Board  of  any  progres- 
sive company.  " 


CHAPTER  II 

Josephine  Dredlinton,  with  a  smile  which  gave  to 
her  face  a  singularly  sweet  expression,  deprecated 
the  disturbance  which  her  coming  had  caused 
amongst  the  little  company.  The  four  men  had 
risen  to  their  feet.  Kendrick  was  holding  a  chair 
for  her.  She  apparently  knew  every  one  intimately 
except  Wingate,  and  Sarah  hastened  to  present 
him. 

"  Mr.  Wingate  —  the  Countess  of  Dredlinton,  " 
she  said.  "  Mr.  Wingate  has  just  arrived  from  New 
York,  Josephine,  and  he  wants  to  know  which  are 
the  newest  plays  worth  seeing  and  the  latest  mode 
In  men's  ties.  " 

A  somewhat  curious  few  seconds  followed  upon 
Sarah's  few  words  of  introduction.  Wingate  stood 
drawn  to  his  fullest  height,  having  the  air  of  a  man 
who,  on  the  point  of  making  his  little  conventional 
movement  and  speech,  has  felt  the  influence  of  some 
emotion  in  itself  almost  paralysing.  His  eyes 


16  THE  PROFITEERS 

searched  the  face  of  the  woman  before  whom  he 
stood,  almost  eagerly,  as  though  he  were  conjuring 
up  to  himself  pictures  of  her  in  some  former  state 
and  trying  to  reconcile  them  with  her  present  ap- 
pearance. She,  on  her  side,  seemed  to  be  realising 
some  secret  and  indefinable  pleasure.  The  lines  of 
her  beautiful  mouth,  too  often,  nowadays,  weary  and 
drooping,  softened  into  a  quiet,  almost  mysterious 
smile.  Her  eyes  —  very  large  and  wonderful  eyes 
they  were  —  seemed  to  hold  some  other  vision  than 
the  vision  of  this  tall,  forceful-looking  man.  It  was 
a  moment  which  no  one,  perhaps,  except  those  two 
themselves  realised.  To  the  lookers-on  it  seemed 
only  a  meeting  between  two  very  distinguished  and 
attractive-looking  people,  naturally  interested  in 
each  other. 

"  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  meet  Lady  Dredlin- 
ton, "  Wingate  said.  "  I  hope  that  Miss  Baldwin's 
remark  will  not  prejudice  me  in  your  opinion.  I 
am  really  not  such  a  frivolous  person  as  she  would 
have  you  believe.  " 

"  Even  if  you  were,  "  she  rejoined,  sinking  into 
the  chair  which  had  been  brought  for  her,  "  a  little 
frivolity  from  men,  nowadays,  is  rather  in  order, 
isn't  it?" 

"  It's  all  very  well  for  those  who  can  afford  to 
indulge  in  it, "  Kendrick  grumbled.  "  We  can't 


THE  PROFITEERS  17 

earn  our  bread  and  butter  now  on  the  Stock  Ex- 
change. Even  our  friend  Maurice  here,  who  works 
as  long  as  an  hour  and  a  half  a  day  sometimes,  de- 
clares that  he  can  barely  afford  his  new  Rolls- 
Royce.  " 

"  You  men  are  so  elusive  about  your  prospects, " 
Sarah  declared.  "  I  believe  that  Jimmy  could  af- 
ford to  marry  me  to-morrow  if  he'd  only  make  up 
his  mind  to  it.  " 

"  I'm  read}T  to  try,  anyhow,  "  the  young  man  as- 
sured her  promptly.  "  Girls  nowadays  talk  so  much 
rot  about  giving  up  their  liberty.  " 

"  Once  a  taxicab  driver,  always  a  taxicab 
driver,  "  Sarah  propounded.  "  Did  you  know  that 
that  was  my  profession,  Mr.  Wingate?  If  you  do 
need  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  comfortable  con- 
veyance while  you  are  in  town,  will  you  remember 
me  ?  I'll  send  you  a  card,  if  you  like.  " 

"  Don't,  for  heaven's  sake,  listen  to  that  young 
woman,  "  Kendrick  begged. 

"  Her  cab's  on  its  last  legs,"  the  Honourable 
Jimmy  warned  him,  "  three  cylinders  missing,  and 
the  fourth  makes  a  noise  like  popcorn  when  you 
come  to  a  gradient.  " 

"  It  isn't  as  though  she  could  drive, "  Maurice 
White  put  in.  "  There  isn't  an  insurance  company 
in  London  will  take  her  on  as  a  risk.  " 


i8  THE  PROFITEERS 

Sarah  glanced  from  one  to  the  other  in  well-as- 
sumed viciousness. 

"  Don't  I  hate  you  all ! "  she  exclaimed  bitterly. 
"  I  can  understand  Jimmy,  because  he  likes  me  to 
drive  him  all  the  time,  but  you  others,  who  aren't 
regular  clients  at  all,  why  you  should  butt  in  and 
try  to  spoil  my  chances,  I  can't  think.  Mr.  Win- 
gate  is  just  my  conception  of  the  ideal  fare  —  gen- 
erous, affable,  and  with  trans-Atlantic  notions 
about  tips.  I  shall  send  you  my  card,  all  the  same, 
Mr.  Wingate.  " 

"And  I  hope, "  Josephine  said,  "  that  Mr.  Win- 
gate  will  not  take  the  slightest  notice  of  all  the  rub- 
bish these  unkind  people  have  been  saying.  Miss 
Baldwin  drives  me  continually  and  has  given  me 
every  satisfaction.  " 

"  *  Every  satisfaction  '  I  love,  "  Sarah  declared. 
"  I  shaU  have  that  framed.  " 

"  Any  chance  of  your  taking  me  back  to  the 
Milan  ?  "  Wingate  enquired. 

Sarah  shook  her  head  regretfully,  glancing  down 
at  her  muslin  gown. 

"  Can't  you  see  I'm  in  my  party  clothes  ?  "  she 
said.  "  I  did  bring  the  old  'bus  down  here,  but  I 
had  a  boy  meet  me  and  take  it  away.  I'll  send  you 
my  card  and  telephone  number,  Mr.  Wingate.  You 
can  rely  upon  my  punctuality  and  dispatch.  Even 


THE  PROFITEERS  19 

my  aunt  here  would  give  me  a  reference,  if  pressed,  " 
she  added,  as  their  hostess  paused  for  a  moment  to 
whisper  something  in  Josephine's  ear. 

"  Your  driving's  like  your  life,  dear,  much  too 
fast  for  my  liking,  "  Lady  Amesbury  declared.  "  I 
hope  things  are  better  in  your  country,  Mr.  Win- 
gate,  but  our  young  people  go  on  anyhow  now. 
Here's  my  niece  drives  a  taxicab  and  is  proud  of  it, 
my  own  daughter  designs  underclothes  and  sells 
them  at  a  shop  in  Sloane  Street  to  any  one  who 
comes  along,  and  my  boy,  who  ought  to  go  into  the 
Guards,  prefers  to  go  into  Roger  Kendrick's  office. 
What  are  you  going  to  start  him  at,  Roger  ?  " 

"  A  pound  a  week  and  his  lunch  money,  prob- 
ably, "  Kendrick  replied. 

"  I  don't  think  he'll  earn  it,  "  his  fond  mother  said 
sadly.  "  However,  that's  your  business.  Don't 
forget  you're  dining  with  me  Sunday  night,  John. 
I'll  ask  Josephine,  too,  if  you  succeed  in  making 
friends  with  her.  She's  a  little  difficult,  but  well 
worth  knowing.  —  Dear  me,  I  wish  people  would  be- 
gin to  go !  I  wonder  whether  they  realise  that  it  is 
nearly  six  o'clock.  " 

"  I  shan't  stir  a  yard,  "  Sarah  declared,  "  until  I 
have  had  another  ice.  Jimmy,  run  and  fetch  me 
one.  " 

"  My  family  would  be  the  last  to  help  me  out,  " 


20  THE  PROFITEERS 

Lady  Amesbury  grumbled.  "  I'm  ashamed  of  the 
whole  crowd  of  you  round  here.  Roger,  you  and 
Mr.  White  are  disgraceful,  sitting  and  drinking 
whiskies  and  sodas  and  enjoying  yourselves,  when 
you  ought  to  have  been  walking  round  the  gardens 
being  properly  bored.  " 

"I  came  to  enjoy  myself  and  I  have  done  so," 
Kendrick  assured  her.  "  To  add  to  my  satisfaction, 
I  have  met  my  biggest  client  —  at  least  he  is  my 
biggest  client  when  he  feels  like  doing  things.  " 

"  Do  you  feel  like  doing  things  now,  Mr.  Win- 
gate?  "  Sarah  ventured. 

Maurice  White  held  out  his  hands  in  horror. 

"  My  dear  young  lady, "  he  exclaimed,  "  such 
questions  are  absolutely  impossible !  When  a  man 
comes  on  to  a  market,  he  comes  on  secretly.  There 
are  plenty  of  people  who  would  give  you  a  hand- 
some cheque  to  hear  Mr.  Wingate's  answer  to  that 
question.  " 

"  Any  one  may  hand  over  the  cheque,  then, " 
Wingate  interposed  smilingly,  "  because  my  answer 
to  Miss  Baldwin  is  prompt  and  truthful.  I  do  not 
know.  " 

"  Of  course, "  Lady  Amesbury  complained,  "  if 
you  are  going  to  introduce  a  commercial  element 
into  my  party  —  well,  why  don't  you  and  Maurice, 
Roger,  go  and  dance  about  opposite  one  another, 


THE  PROFITEERS  21 

and  tear  up  bits  of  paper,  and  pretend  to  be  selling 
one  another  things?  —  Hooray,  I  can  see  some  peo- 
ple beginning  to  move!  I'll  go  and  speed  them  off 
the  premises.  " 

She  hurried  away.     Sarah  drew  a  sigh  of  relief. 

'"  Somehow  or  other,  "  she  confessed,  "  I  always 
feel  a  sense  of  tranquility  when  my  aunt  has  just 
departed.  " 

Josephine  rose  to  her  feet. 

"  I  think  I  shall  go,"  she  decided,  "  while  the  stock 
of  taxicabs  remains  unexhausted.  " 

"  If  you  will  allow  me,  "  Wingate  said,  "  I  will 
find  you  one.  " 

Their  farewells  were  a  little  casual.  They  were 
all,  in  a  way,  intimates.  Only  Kendrick  touched 
Wingate  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Shall  I  see  you  in  the  City  to-morrow?  "  he 
asked. 

"  About  eleven  o'clock,  "  Wingate  suggested,  "  if 
that  is  not  too  early.  There  are  a  few  things  I 
want  to  talk  to  you  about.  " 

"  Where  shall  I  send  my  card?  "  Sarah  called  out 
after  him. 

"The  Milan  Hotel,"  he  replied,  "with  terms, 
please.  " 

She  made  a  little  grimace. 

"  Terms !  "       she       repeated       scornfully.     "  An 


22  THE  PROFITEERS 

American     generally     pays     what    he     is     asked."" 

"  On  the  contrary,  "  Wingate  retorted,  "  he  pays 
for  what  he  gets.  " 

"  Your  address  ?  "  Wingate  asked,  as  Re  handed 
Josephine  into  a  taxicab. 

"  Dredlinton  House,  Grosvenor  Square,  "  she  an- 
swered. "  You  mustn't  let  me  take  you  out  of  your 
way,  though.  " 

"  Will  you  humour  me  ?  "  he  asked.  "  There  is 
something  I  want  to  say  to  you,  and  I  don't  want 
to  say  it  here.  May  we  drive  to  Albert  Gate  and 
walk  in  the  Park  a  little  way?  I  can  find  you  an- 
other taxi  the  other  side.  " 

"  I  should  like  that  very  much, "  she  answered. 

They  spoke  scarcely  at  all  during  their  brief 
drive,  or  during  the  first  part  of  their  walk  in  the 
Park.  Then  he  pointed  to  two  chairs  under  a  tree. 

"  May  we  sit  here  ?  "  he  begged,  leading  the  way. 

She  followed,  and  they  sat  side  by  side.  He  took 
off  his  hat  and  laid  it  on  the  ground. 

"  So  one  of  the  dreams  of  my  life  has  been  real- 
ised," he  said  quietly.  "  I  have  met  Sister  Jose- 
phine again.  " 

She  was  for  a  moment  transformed.  A  delicate 
pink  flush  stole  through  the  pallor  of  her  cheeks,  her 
tired  eyes  were  lit  with  pleasure.  She  smiled  at 
him. 


THE  PROFITEERS  23 

"  I  was  wondering, "  she  murmured.  "  You 
really  hadn't  forgotten,  then?  " 

"  I  remember,"  he  told  her,  "  as  though  it  were 
yesterday,  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  you.  I  was 
brought  into  Etaples.  It  wasn't  much  of  a  wound 
but  it  was  painful.  I  remember  seeing  you  in  that 
white  stone  hall,  in  your  cool  Sister's  dress.  After 
the  dust  and  horror  of  battle  there  seemed  to  be 
nothing  in  that  wonderful  hospital  of  yours  but 
sunlight  and  white  walls  and  soft  voices.  I  watched 
your  face  as  you  listened  to  the  details  about  my 
case  —  and  I  forgot  the  pain.  In  the  morning  you 
came  to  see  how  I  was,  and  most  mornings  after- 
wards. " 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  remember, "  she  murmured. 

"  I  have  forgotten  nothing,"  he  went  on.  "  I 
think  that  those  ten  days  of  convalescence  out  in 
the  gardens  of  your  villa  and  down  by  the  sea  were 
the  most  wonderful  days  I  ever  spent.  " 

"  I  love  to  hear  you  say  so,  "  she  confessed. 

"  Out  there,  "  he  continued,  "  the  whole  show  was 
hideous  from  beginning  to  end,  a  ghastly,  terrible 
drama,  played  out  amongst  all  the  accompaniments 
which  make  hell  out  of  earth.  And  yet  the  thing 
gripped.  The  tragedy  of  Ypres  came  and  I  es- 
caped from  the  hospital.  " 

"  You  were  not  fit  to  go.     They  all  said  that.  " 


24  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  couldn't  help  it,  "  he  answered.  "  The  guns 
were  there,  calling,  and  one  forgot.  I've  been  back 
to  England  three  times  since  then,  and  each  time  one 
thought  was  foremost  in  my  mind  —  *  shall  I  meet 
Sister  Josephine?  ' 

"  But  you  never  even  made  enquiries, "  she  re- 
minded him.  "  At  my  hospital  I  made  it  a  strict  rule 
that  our  names  in  civil  life  were  never  mentioned  or 
divulged,  but  afterwards  you  could  have  found  out." 

He  touched  her  left  hand  very  lightly,  lingered 
for  a  moment  on  her  fourth  finger. 

"  It  was  the  ring, "  he  said.  "  I  knew  that  you 
were  married,  and  somehow,  knowing  that,  I  desired 
to  know  no  more.  I  suppose  that  sounds  rather 
like  a  cry  from  Noah's  Ark,  but  I  couldn't  help  it. 
I  just  felt  like  that.  " 

"  And  now  you  probably  know  a  good  deal  about 
me,"  she  remarked,  with  a  rather  sad  smile.  "  I 
have  been  married  nine  years.  I  gather  that  you 
know  my  husband  by  name  and  repute.  " 

"  Your  husband  is  associated  with  a  man  whom  I 
have  always  considered  my  enemy,  "  he  said. 

"  My  husband's  friends  are  not  my  friends,  "  she 
rejoined,  a  little  bitterly,  "  nor  does  he  take  me 
into  his  confidence  as  regards  his  business  ex- 
ploits. " 

"Then   what    does    it   matter?"    he    asked.     "I 


THE  PROFITEERS  25 

should  never  have  sought  you  out,  for  the  reason  I 
have  given  you,  but  since  we  have  met  you  will  not 
refuse  me  your  friendship?  You  will  let  me  come 
and  see  you?  " 

She  laughed  softly. 

"  I  shall  be  very  unhappy  if  you  do  not.  Come 
to-morrow  afternoon  to  tea  at  five  o'clock.  There 
will  be  no  one  else  there,  and  we  can  talk  of  those 
times  on  the  beach  at  Etaples.  You  were  rather  a 
pessimist  in  those  days." 

"  It  seems  ages  ago, "  he  replied.  "  To-day,  at 
any  rate,  I  feel  differently.  I  knew  when  I  glanced 
at  Lady  Amesbury's  card  this  morning  that  some- 
thing was  going  to  happen.  I  went  to  that  stupid 
garden  party  all  agog  for  adventure.  " 

"  Am  I  the  adventure?  "  she  asked  lightly. 

He  made  no  immediate  answer,  turning  his  head, 
however,  and  studying  her  with  a  queer,  impersonal 
deliberation.  She  was  wearing  a  smoke-coloured 
muslin  gown  and  a  black  hat  with  gracefully  ar- 
ranged feathers.  For  a  moment  the  weariness  had 
passed  from  her  face  and  she  was  a  very  beautiful 
woman.  Her  features  were  delicately  shaped,  her 
eyes  rather  deep-set.  She  had  a  long,  graceful 
neck,  and  resting  upon  her  throat,  fastened  by  a 
thin  platinum  chain,  was  a  single  sapphire.  There 
was  about  her  just  that  same  delicate  femininity, 


26  THE  PROFITEERS 

that  exquisite  aroma  of  womanliness  and  tender  sex- 
uality whidh  had  impressed  him  so  much  upon  their 
first  meeting.  She  was  more  wonderful  even  than 
his  dreams,  this  rather  tired  woman  of  fashion 
whose  coming  had  been  so  surprising.  He  would 
have  answered  her  question  lightly  but  he  found  it 
impossible.  A  great  part  of  his  success  in  life  had 
been  due  to  his  inspiration.  He  knew  perfectly  well 
that  she  was  to  be  the  adventure  of  his  life. 

"  It  is  so  restful  here, "  she  said  presently,  "  and 
I  can't  tell  you  how  much  I  have  enjoyed  our  meet- 
ing, but  alas ! "  she  added,  glancing  at  her  watch, 
"  you  see  the  time  —  and  I  am  dining  out.  We  will 
walk  to  Hyde  Park  Corner  and  you  must  find  me  a 
cab.  " 

He  rose  to  his  feet  at  once  and  they  strolled  slowly 
along  on  the  least  frequented  footpath. 

"  I  hope  so  much,"  she  went  on,  "  that  my  hus- 
band's connection  with  the  man  you  dislike  will  not 
make  any  difference.  You  must  meet  him,  of 
course  —  my  husband,  I  mean.  You  will  not  like 
him  and  he  will  not  understand  you,  but  you  need 
not  see  much  of  him.  Our  ways,  unfortunately, 
have  lain  apart  for  some  time.  " 

"  You  have  your  troubles,  "  he  said  quietly.  "  I 
knew  it  when  you  first  began  to  talk  to  me  at 
Etaples.  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  27 

"  I  have  my  troubles,  "  she  admitted.  "  You  will 
understand  them  when  you  know  me  better.  Some- 
times I  think  they  are  more  than  I  can  bear.  To- 
night I  feel  inclined  to  make  light  of  them.  It  is  a 
great  thing  to  have  friends.  I  have  so  few.  " 

"  I  am  a  little  ambitious,"  he  ventured.  "  I  do 
not  wish  to  take  my  place  amongst  the  rank  and  file. 
I  want  to  be  something  different  to  you  in  life  — 
more  than  any  one  else.  If  affection  and  devotion 
count,  I  shall  earn  my  place.  " 

Her  eyes  were  filled  with  tears  as  she  gave  him 
her  hand. 

"  Indeed,"  she  assured  him,  "  you  are  there  al- 
ready- You  have  been  there  in  my  thoughts  for  so 
long.  If  you  wish  to  keep  your  place,  you  will  find 
very  little  competition.  I  am  rather  a  dull  woman 
these  days,  and  I  have  very  little  to  give." 

He  smiled  confidently  as  he  stopped  a  taxicab  and 
handed  her  in. 

"  May  I  not  be  the  judge  of  that?  "  he  begged. 
"  Giving  depends  upon  the  recipient,  you  know. 
You  have  given  me  more  happiness  within  this  last 
half-hour  than  I  have  had  since  we  parted  in 
France.  " 

Some  instinct  of  her  younger  days  brought  hap- 
piness into  her  laugh,  a  provocative  gleam  into  her 
soft  eyes. 


28  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  You  are  very  easily  satisfied,  "  she  murmured. 

He  laughed  back  again,  but  though  he  opened  his 
lips  to  speak,  the  words  remained  unsaid.  Some- 
thing warned  him  that  here  was  a  woman  passing 
through  something  like  a  crisis  in  her  life,  and  that 
a  single  false  step  on  his  part  might  be  fatal.  He 
stood  hat  in  hand  and  watched  the  taxicab  turn  up 
Park  Lane. 


CHAPTER  III 

There  was  a  little  flutter  of  excitement  in  the 
offices  of  Messrs.  Kendrick,  Stone,  Morgan  and 
Company  when,  at  a  few  minutes  after  eleven  the 
following  morning,  Wingate  descended  from  a  taxi- 
cab,  pushed  open  the  swing  doors  of  the  large  gen- 
eral office  and  enquired  for  Mr.  Kendrick.  Without 
a  moment's  delay  he  was  shown  into  Roger  Ken- 
drick's  private  room,  but  the  little  thrill  caused  by 
his  entrance  did  not  at  once  pass  away.  It  was  like 
'  the  visit  of  a  general  to  Divisional  Headquarters. 
Action  of  some  sort  seemed  to  be  in  the  air.  Ideas 
of  big  dealings  already  loomed  large  in  the  minds  of 
the  little  army  of  clerks.  Telephones  were  handled 
longingly.  Those  of  the  firm  who  were  members  of 
the  Stock  Exchange  abandoned  any  work  of  a  dis- 
tracting nature  and  held  themselves  ready  for  a 
prompt  rush  across  the  street. 

Even  Roger  Kendrick,  as  he  shook  hands  with  his 
client,  was  conscious  of  a  little  thrill  of  expectation. 
Wingate  was  a  man  who  brought  with  him  almost  a 
conscious  sense  of  power.  Carefully,  but  not  over- 


30  THE  PROFITEERS 

carefully  dressed,  muscular,  with  a  frame  like  steel, 
eyes  keen  and  bright,  carrying  himself  like  a  man 
who  knows  himself  and  his  value,  John  Wingate 
would  have  appeared  a  formidable  adversary  in  any 
game  in  which  he  chose  to  take  a  hand.  Whatever 
his  present  intentions  were,  however,  he  seemed  in 
no  hurry  to  declare  himself.  The  two  men  spoke 
for  a  few  minutes  on  outside  subjects.  Wingate  re- 
ferred to  the  garden  party  of  the  afternoon  before, 
led  the  conversation  with  some  skill  around  to  the 
subject  of  Josephine  Dredlinton,  and  listened  to 
what  the  other  man  had  to  say. 

"  Every  one  is  sorry  for  Lady  Dredlinton,  "  Ken- 
drick  pronounced.  "  Why  she  married  Dredlinton 
is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  world.  I  suppose  it 
was  the  fatal  mistake  so  many  good  women  make  — 
the  reformer's  passion.  Dredlinton's  rotten  to  the 
core,  though.  No  one  could  reform  him,  could  even 
influence  him  to  good  to  any  extent.  He's  such  a 
wrong  'un,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  that  I'm  surprised 
Phipps  put  him  on  the  Board.  His  name  is  long 
past  doing  any  one  any  good.  " 

"  Lady  Dredlinton  did  not  strike  me  as  having 
altogether  the  air  of  an  unhappy  woman,"  Wingate 
observed  tentatively. 

Kendrick  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  No    fundamentally    good    woman    is    ever    un- 


THE  PROFITEERS  31 

happy,"  he  said,  "  or  rather  ever  shows  it.  She  is 
face  to  face  all  the  time  with  the  necessity  of  mak- 
ing the  best  of  things  for  the  sake  of  other  people. 
Lady  Dredlinton  carries  herself  bravely,  but  the  peo- 
ple who  know  her  best  never  cease  to  feel  sorry  for 
her." 

"  You  have  those  figures  I  sent  you  a  wireless 
for?  "  Wingate  asked,  a  little  abruptly. 

"  I  have  them  here,"  Kendrick  replied,  producing 
a  little  roll  of  papers  from  a  drawer.  "  They  want 
a  little  digesting,  even  by  a  man  with  a  head  for 
figures  like  yours.  In  some  respects,  these  fellows 
seem  to  have  had  the  most  amazing  luck.  Unless 
we  come  to  an  understanding  with  Russia  within  the 
next  month,  of  which  there  doesn't  seem  to  me  to  be 
the  slightest  prospect,  we  shall  get  no  wheat  from 
there  for  at  least  another  year." 

"  And  the  harvests  all  over  eastern  Europe  were 
shocking,"  Wingate  said,  half  to  himself. 

"  It  doesn't  seem  to  me,"  Kendrick  pointed  out, 
"  that  more  than  driblets  can  be  expected  from  any- 
where, except,  of  course,  the  greatest  source  of  all, 
Canada  and  the  United  States." 

"  You've  no  indication  of  the  Government's  atti- 
tude, I  suppose?  "  Wingate  asked. 

"  I  don't  suppose  they  have  one,"  Kendrick  an- 
swered, "  upon  that  or  any  other  subject.  Of 


32  THE  PROFITEERS 

course,  if  all  the  wheat  that's  being  stored  in  the 
country  under  the  auspices  of  the  B.  &  I.  stood  in 
their  own  name,  the  matter  would  appear  in  a  differ- 
ent light,  but  they've  been  infernally  clever  with  all 
these  subsidiary  companies.  They  own  a  majority 
of  shares  in  each,  without  a  doubt,  but  they  conduct 
their  transactions  as  though  they  were  absolutely 
independent  concerns." 

Wingate  studied  the  figures  in  the  document  he 
was  holding  for  some  minutes  in  thoughtful  silence. 
The  telephone  rang  at  Kendrick's  elbow.  He  picked 
up  the  receiver  and  listened. 

"  That  Kendrick  ?  "  a  voice  enquired. 

"  Speaking,"  Kendrick  answered. 

"  This  is  Peter  Phipps,  from  right  away  opposite. 
Say,  I  am  told  that  John  Wingate  of  New  York  is 
a  client  of  yours." 

Kendrick  passed  across  the  spare  receiver  to  Win- 
gate  and  paused  for  a  moment  whilst  the  latter  held 
it  to  his  ear. 

"  He  is,"  Kendrick  admitted. 

"  Well,  I  am  given  to  understand  that  he  is  com- 
ing into  the  City  to  do  business,"  Phipps  continued. 
"  If  he  is  in  any  way  disposed  to  be  a  seller,  we  are 
buyers  of  wheat  for  autumn  delivery  at  market  price, 
perhaps  even  a  shade  over." 

"  Any  quantity  ?  "  Kendrick  enquired. 


THE  PROFITEERS  33 

"  A  hundred  thousand  —  anything  up  to  a  million 
bushels,  if  Mr.  Wingate  feels  like  coming  in  big. 
Anyway,  we're  ready  to  talk  business.  Will  you 
put  it  up  to  your  client?  " 

« I  will." 

"  Shall  you  be  seeing  him  soon  ?  " 

"  This  morning,  probably." 

"  Thought  you  might,"  the  voice  at  the  other 
end  of  the  telephone  observed,  "  as  I  saw  him  step 
into  your  office  half  an  hour  ago.  Give  him  my  com- 
pliments and  say  I  hope  we  may  make  a  deal  to- 
gether." 

"  Certainly,"  Kendrick  promised.  "  Good  morn- 
ing." 

The  two  men  laid  down  their  receivers.  Ken- 
drick's  eyes  twinkled. 

"  Well,  that  fellow's  a  sport,  anyway,"  he  de- 
clared. 

"  I  suppose  in  one  sense  of  the  word  he  is,"  Win- 
gate  admitted.  "  So  he  wants  me  to  sell  him  wheat, 
eh?  It  looks  a  good  thing  at  these  prices,  Kendrick, 
doesn't  it,  and  a  normal  harvest  coming  along  on  the 
other  side?  " 

"  That's  for  you  to  say,"  was  the  cautious  reply. 
"  These  big  deals  in  commodities  which  have  to  be 
delivered  on  a  certain  date  always  seem  to  me  a 
little  out  of  the  sphere  of  legitimate  gambling." 


34  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  At  the  same  time,"  Wingate  remarked,  "  the 
price  of  wheat  to-day  is  scandalous.  If  the  B.  &  I. 
forced  it  up  any  higher,  I  should  think  that  the 
Government  must  intervene." 

"  I  shouldn't  reckon  upon  it." 

"  Naturally !  I  shouldn't  enter  into  a  gamble, 
taking  that  as  a  certainty.  At  the  same  time,  I 
want  to  view  the  matter  in  all  its  bearings.  I  can't 
conceive  any  private  firm  being  allowed  to  boost  up 
the  price  of  wheat  to  such  an  extent  for  purposes 
of  speculation." 

"  It  would  be  devilish  difficult,"  Kendrick  pointed 
out,  "  to  trace  the  whole  thing  to  the  B.  &  I." 

Wingate  took  a  cigarette  from  the  open  box  upon 
the  office  table,  lit  it  and  smoked  for  a  moment 
thoughtfully. 

"  Kendrick,"  he  said,  "  I  am  a  good  friend  and  a 
good  enemy ;  Peter  Phipps  is  my  enemy.  We 
should  probably  shake  hands  if  we  met,  _  we  might 
even  sit  down  at  the  same  table,  but  we  know  the 
truth.  Each  of  us  in  his  heart  desires  nothing  in 
the  world  so  much  as  the  ruin  of  the  other." 

"What  was  the  start  of  this  feeling?"  Kendrick 
asked. 

"  A  woman,"  Wingate  replied  shortly,  "  and  that's 
all  there  is  to  be  said  about  it,  Kendrick.  I  shall 
hate  Peter  Phipps  as  long  as  I  live,  for  the  sake 


THE  PROFITEERS  35 

of  the  girl  he  ruined,  and  he  will  hate  me  because 
of  the  thrashing  I  gave  him.  Ever  noticed  the 
scar  on  his  right  cheek,  Kendrick?  " 

"  Often,"  the  stockbroker  replied.  "  He  told  me 
it  was  done  in  a  saloon  fight  out  in  the  Far  West." 

"  I  did  it  in  the  Far  East,"  Wingate  declared 
grimly,  "  as  far  east,  at  least,  as^the  drawing-room  of 
his  Fifth  Avenue  house.  He'll  never  lose  that  scar. 
He'll  never  lose  his  hatred  of  the  man  who  gave  it 
to  him. —  So  he  wants  me  to  sell  him  wheat !  " 

"  It's  a  pretty  dangerous  thing  to  introduce  feel- 
ings of  this  sort  into  business,"  Kendrick  remarked. 

"  You're  right,"  Wingate  admitted.  "  It  makes 
one  careful.  I'm  not  selling  any  wheat  to-day,  Ken- 
drick." 

"  It  will  be  a  disappointment  to  the  office,"  the 
other  remarked.  "  Personally,  I'm  glad." 

"  Oh,  I'll  keep  your  office  busy,"  Wingate  prom- 
ised. "  I'm  not  coming  into  the  City  for  nothing, 
I  can  assure  you.  There  are  five  commissions  for 
you,"  he  went  on,  drawing  a  sheet  of  paper  from  the 
rack  and  writing  on  it  rapidly.  "  That  will  keep 
your  office  busy  for  a  time.  I'll  give  you  a  cheque 
for  fifty  thousand  pounds.  Don't  ring  me  up  un- 
less you  want  more  margin.  Closing  time  prices 
are  all  I'm  interested  in,  and  I  can  get  those  on  the 
tape  anywhere." 


36  THE  PROFITEERS 

The  stockbroker's  eyes  glistened  as  he  looked 
through  the  list. 

"  You're  a  good  judge,  Wingate,"  he  said. 
"  You'll  make  money  on  most  of  these." 

"  I  expect  >  I  shall,"  Wingate  acknowledged. 
"  Anyhow,  it  will  keep  you  people  busy  and  serve 
as  a  sort  of  visiting  card  here  for  me  until  — 

"  Until  what  ?  "  Kendrick  asked,  breaking  a  short 
pause. 

"  Until  I  can  make  up  my  mind  how  to  deal  with 
those  fellows  across  the  way.  On  paper  it  still 
looks  a  good  thing  to  sell  them  wheat,  you  know. 
Peter  Phipps  has  something  up  his  sleeve  for  me, 
though.  I've  got  to  try  and  find  out  what  it  is." 

"  You'll  excuse  me  for  a  moment  ? "  Kendrick 
begged.  "  I'm  only  a  human  being,  and  I  can't  hold 
a  couple  of  million  pounds'  worth  of  business  in  my 
hand  and  not  set  it  going.  I'll  be  back  directly." 

"  Don't  hurry  on  my  account,"  Wingate  replied. 
"  I'm  going  to  use  your  telephone,  if  I  may." 

"  Of  course !  You  have  a  private  line  there. 
The  others  will  be  all  buzzing  away  in  a  minute. 
I'll  send  Jenkins  and  Poore  along  to  the  House. 
What  about  lunch?" 

"  To-morrow,  one  o'clock  at  the  Milan,"  Wingate 
appointed.  "  I'm  busy  to-day." 


CHAPTER  IV 

Wingate  made  his  way  from  the  City  to  Shaftes- 
bury  Avenue,  where  he  entered  a  block  of  offices, 
studied  the  direction  board  on  the  wall  for  a  few 
minutes,  and  finally  took  the  lift  to  the  fourth  floor. 
Exactly  opposite  to  him  across  the  uncarpeted  cor- 
ridor was  a  door  from  which  half  the  varnish  had 
peeled  off,  on  which  was  painted  in  white  letters  — 
MR.  ANDREW  SLATE.  A  knock  on  the  panel  re- 
sulted in  an  immediate  invitation  to  enter.  Wingate 
turned  the  handle,  entered  and  closed  the  door  be- 
hind him.  The  man  who  was  the  solitary  occupant 
of  the  room  half  rose  from  behind!  his  desk. 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you?  "  he  asked. 

Wingate  was  in  no  hurry  to  reply.  He  took 
rapid  stock  of  his  surroundings  and  of  the  man  who 
had  confronted  him.  The  room  was  small,  none 
too  clean  and  badly  furnished.  It  reeked  with  the 
smell  of  tobacco,  and  notwithstanding  the  warmth 
of  the  June  day,  all  the  windows  were  tightly  closed. 
Its  occupant,  a  lank  man  with  a  smooth  but  wizened 
face,  straight  white  hair  and  dark,  piercing  eyes, 


38  THE  PROFITEERS 

was  in  accord  with  his  surroundings, —  shabby,  un- 
kempt, with  cigarette  ash  down  the  front  of  his  coat, 
his  collar  none  too  clean,  his  tie  awry. 

"  Hm ! "  Wingate  remarked.  "  Seems  to  me 
you're  not  taking  care  of  yourself,  Andrew.  Do 
you  mind  if  I  open  a  window  or  two?  " 

"  My  God,  it's  Wingate ! "  the  tenant  of  the  room 
exclaimed.  "  John  Wingate !  " 

Wingate,  who  had  succeeded  in  opening  the  win- 
dows, came  over  and  shook  hands  with  the  man  whom 
he  had  come  to  visit. 

"  How  are  you,  Andrew  ?  "  he  said.  "  What  on 
earth's  got  you  that  you  choose  to  live  in  an  atmos- 
phere like  this ! " 

Slate,  who  had  recovered  from  his  surprise,  slipped 
dejectedly  back  into  his  pla^e.  Wingate  had  es- 
tablished himself  with  caution  upon  the  only  remain- 
ing chair. 

"  I've  had  lung  trouble  over  here,"  Slate  explained. 
"  This  heavy  atmosphere  plays  the  devil  with  one's 
breathing.  I  guess  you're  right  about  the  windows, 
though.  How  did  you  find  me  out?  " 

"  Telephone  directory,  aided  by  my  natural  intel- 
ligence," Wingate  replied.  "  What  are  you  doing 
these  days  ?  " 

"  Trying  to  run  straight  and  finding  it  filthily  dif- 
ficult," the  other  answered. 


THE  PROFITEERS  39 

"  What  do  you  call  yourself,  anyway  ?  "  Wingate 
asked.  "  There's  nothing  except  your  name  on  the 
board  downstairs." 

Slate  nodded. 

"  I'm  the  only  one  in  the  building,"  he  said,  "  who 
isn't  either  a  theatrical  agent  or  a  bookmaker.  I've 
got  just  a  small  connection  amongst  the  riffraff  as  a 
man  who  can  be  trusted  to  collect  the  necessary  evi- 
dence in  a  divorce  case,  especially  if  there's  a  little 
collusion,  or  find  a  few  false  witnesses  to  help  a 
thief  with  an  alibi.  Once  or  twice  I  have  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  introduce  a  receiver  to  a  successful 
thief." 

"  Hm !  "  Wingate  observed.  "  You  see  all  sorts 
of  life." 

"  I  do  indeed,"  Slate  admitted.  "  What  do  you 
want  with  me?  I  can  find  you  a  murderer  who's 
looking  for  a  job,  or  a  burglar  who  would  take  any- 
thing on  where  there  was  a  reasonable  chance  of  suc- 
cess, or  half  a  dozen  witnesses  —  a  little  tarnished, 
though,  I'm  afraid  they  may  be  —  who  would  swear 
anything.  Or  I  can  find  you  several  beautiful 
ladies  —  beautiful,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  aid  of 
one  of  the  costumers  up  the  street  and  a  liberal  sup- 
ply of  cosmetics  —  who  will  inveigle  any  young  man 
you  want  dealt  with  into  any  sort  of  situation,  pro- 
vided he  is  fool  enough  and  the  pay  is  good.  I'm  an 


40  THE  PROFITEERS 

all-round  man  still,  Wingate,  but  my  nose  is  a  little 
closer  to  the  ground  than  it  was." 

Wingate  looked  thoughtfully  at  the  man  whom 
he  had  come  to  visit,  studying  his  appearance  in 
every  detail.  Then  he  leaned  across  and  laid  his 
hand  upon  his  shoulder. 

"  Andrew,"  he  said,  "  you  and  I  have  looked  out 
at  life  once  or  twice  and  seen  the  big  things.  I 
guess  there's  no  false  shame  between  us.  I  can  say 
what  I  want,  can't  I?  " 

"  I  should  say  so,"  was  the  hearty  reply.  "  Get 
right  on  with  it,  John.  I've  passed  the  blushing 
age." 

"  It's  like  this,"  Wingate  explained.  "  I've  got 
a  job  for  you.  You  can't  do  it  like  that.  Walk  to 
the  door,  will  you?  " 

"  Damn  it,  I  know  you're  going  to  look  at  my 
boots ! "  Slate  declared,  as  he  rose  unwillingly  and 
obeyed. 

"  You've  got  it  at  once,"  Wingate  acquiesced. 
"  You're  a  smart  fellow  still,  Slate,  I  see.  Now 
listen.  You  can't  do  my  job  like  that.  Here's 
twenty  pounds  on  account.  I'm  going  to  stroll 
around  to  the  Milan  Grillroom  and  take  a  table 
for  luncheon.  I  shall  expect  you  there  in  half  an 
hour.  You're  in  the  neighbourhood  for  quick 
changes." 


THE  PROFITEERS  41 

Slate  took  the  money  and  reached  for  his  hat. 

"  Come  along,  then.  You  take  the  lift  down.  I'll 
go  by  the  stairs.  I  shan't  be  late,  unless  you'd  like 
me  to  stop  and  have  a  shave  and  my  hair  trimmed.'* 

"  Great  idea,"  Wingate  assented.  "  I'll  make  it 
three  quarters.  There  really  isn't  any  hurry.  Say 
an  hour,  if  you  like.  I'll  be  sitting  down  inside.'* 

The  metamorphosis  in  Andrew  Slate  was  complete. 
With  his  closely  trimmed  white  hair,  the  dark  growth 
gone  from  his  chin,  in  a  well-cut  morning  coat  and 
trousers,  a  grey  tie  and  fashionable  collar,  his  ap- 
pearance was  entirely  irreproachable.  Wingate 
nodded  his  satisfaction  as  he  approached  the  table. 

"  Jolly  well  done,  Andrew,"  he  declared.  "  You 
certainly  do  pay  for  dressing,  my  boy.  Now  drink 
that  cocktail  up  and  we'll  talk  business." 

Andrew  Slate's  altered  deportment  would  have 
delighted  the  author  of  "  Sartor  Resartus."  With 
his  modish  and  correct  clothes,  his  self-respect  seemed 
to  have  returned.  He  carried  himself  differently,, 
there  was  a  confident  ring  in  his  tone.  He  studied 
the  menu  which  Wingate  passed  him,  through  a  well- 
polished  eyeglass,  and  one  could  well  have  believed 
that  he  was  a  distinguished  and  frequent  patron  of 
the  place. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  Wingate?"  he  asked  at  last,, 
when  the  business  of  ordering  luncheon  was  con- 


42  THE  PROFITEERS 

eluded.     "  I  only  hope  it's  something  I  can  tackle." 

"  You  can  tackle  it  all  right,"  his  companion  as- 
sured him  encouragingly.  "  For  a  week  or  ten  days 
you've  nothing  more  to  do  than  a  little  ordinary  de- 
tective business.  If  I  decide  to  carry  out  a  scheme 
which  is  forming  in  my  mind,  it  will  be  a  more  seri- 
ous affair.  Time  enough  for  that,  though.  I  should 
just  like  to  ask  you  this.  Can  you  find  a  few  bullies 
of  the  Tom  Grogan  class,  if  necessary  ?  " 

"  Half  a  hundred,  if  you  want  them,"  Slate  re- 
plied confidently.  "  When  I  first  came  over,  Win- 
gate,  I  can  tell  you  I  felt  all  at  sea.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  the  police  had  got  this  city  in  the  hollow 
of  their  hands,  and  that  there  was  no  chance  at  all 
for  the  man  who  couldn't  rely  on  the  law  to  do  him 
justice.  I  soon  found  out  my  mistake.  There's 
nothing  I  could  get  done  in  New  York  or  Chicago 
which  I  couldn't  get  done  here,  and  at  a  great  deal 
less  cost  and  trouble.  You  thought  I  was  joking 
when  I  told  you  at  my  office  that  I  could  find  you  a 
murderer.  I  wasn't.  I  could  find  you  half  a  dozen, 
if  necessary." 

"  We  aren't  going  quite  as  far  as  that,"  he  said. 
"  Have  you  anything  on  at  all  at  the  present  mo- 
ment?" 

"  Not  a  thing." 

"I  want  you  altogether  free,"  Wingate  went  on. 


THE  PROFITEERS  43 

"  I'm  talking  business  now  because  it's  necessary. 
You're  going  to  earn  money  with  me,  Andrew,  and 
incidentally  you  are  going  to  help  me  break  the  man 
whom  I  think  that  you  hate  almost  as  much  as  I 
do." 

"  You  don't  mean  Phipps  —  Dreadnought 
Phipps?"  Slate  exclaimed,  suddenly  laying 
down  his  knife  and  fork. 

"  I  do,"  Wingate  answered.  "  We  are  up  against 
each  other  once  more,  and,  believe  me,  Slate,  this 
is  going  to  be  the  last  time." 

There  was  a  smouldering  fire  in  Slate's  fine  eyes. 
Nevertheless,  he  seemed  disturbed. 

"  You're  up  against  a  big  thing,  Wingate,"  he 
said.  "  Peter  Phipps  has  made  good  over  here. 
They  say  that  he's  coining  money  in  this  new  com- 
pany of  his." 

"  I'm  after  his  blood,  all  the  same,"  Wingate  re- 
plied. "  We've  had  several  tussles  since  — " 

Wingate  hesitated. 

"  Since  you  nearly  beat  the  breath  out  of  his 
body,"  Slate  interrupted,  with  a  little  shiver. 

"  Yes,  we've  had  several  tussles  since  then,"  Win- 
gate  repeated,  "  and  we  haven't  hurt  each  other 
much.  This  time  I  think  one  of  us  is  going  under. 
Phipps  wants  to  join  issue  with  me  in  the  City. 
I'm  not  so  sure.  I'm  out  to  break  him  properly  this 


44  THE  PROFITEERS 

time,  and  I  am  not  going  to  rush  in  until  I  know 
the  ropes." 

Slate  emptied  a  glass  of  wine  and  leaned  for- 
ward. 

"  John,"  he  said,  relapsing  once  more  into  the 
familiarity  of  their  early  college  days,  "  you  couldn't 
have  set  me  a  job  more  to  my  heart  than  to  have  me 
help  in  brewing  mischief  for  Peter  Phipps.  I'm  your 
man,  body  and  soul  —  you  know  that.  But  you've 
been  a  good  friend  to  me  —  almost  the  only  one  I  ever 
had  —  and  I've  got  to  put  this  up  to  you.  Peter 
Phipps  is  as  clever  as  the  devil.  He  is  up  to  every 
trick  in  this  world,  and  a  few  that  he  probably  bor- 
rowed from  Satan  himself.  I'm  not  trying  to  put 
you  off.  I  only  want  to  say  this.  Go  warily. 
Don't  let  him  lure  you  on  into  risking  too  much  on 
any  one  move.  Always  remember  that  he  has  some- 
thing up  his  sleeve." 

"  That's  all  right,  Slate,"  he  said.  "  I  promise 
you  I'll  think  out  every  move  on  the  board.  I  shall 
risk  nothing  until  I  can  see  my  way  clear  ahead. 
Meanwhile,  you  can  work  on  this." 

He  wrote  a  few  sentences  on  a  sheet  of  paper, 
which  he  folded  up  and  passed  across  the  table. 

"  Don't  open  it  now,"  he  said.  "  Think  it  over 
and  don't  mind  putting  suggestions  up  to  me  if  any- 
thing occurs  to  you.  Call  here  to  see  me  every 


THE  PROFITEERS  45 

morning  at  ten  o'clock.  I  have  a  suite  in  the  Court, 
number  eighty-nine.  You've  done  with  business  — 
you  understand?  " 

"  Sure !  "  Slate  answered.     "  Let's  talk  about  that 
last  game  you  and  I  were  in  against  Princeton." 


CHAPTER  V 

Josephine  received  her  altogether  unexpected  vis- 
itor that  afternoon  with  a  certain  amount  of  trepi- 
dation, mingled  with  considerable  distaste.  Mr. 
Peter  Phipps'  manner,  however,  went  far  towards 
disarming  resentment.  He  was  suave,  restrained  and 
exceedingly  apologetic. 

"  If  I  have  taken  a  liberty  in  coming  to  see  you, 
Lady  Dredlinton,  without  a  direct  invitation,  I  am 
going  to  apologise  right  away,"  he  said.  "  I  don't 
get  much  of  an  opportunity  of  a  chat  with  you  while 
the  others  are  all  around,  and  I  felt  this  afternoon 
like  taking  my  chance  of  finding  you  at  home." 

"  I  am  always  glad  to  see  my  husband's  friends," 
Josephine  replied  a  little  stiffly.  "  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  however,  I  was  surprised  to  see  you  because 
I  left  word  that  I  was  at  home  to  only  one  caller." 

"  Fortunate  person !  "  Mr.  Phipps  declared  with 
a  sigh.  "  May  I  sit  down  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  was  the  somewhat  cold  assent.  "  If 
you  really  have  anything  to  say  to  me,  perhaps  you 
had  better  let  me  know  what  it  is  at  once." 


THE  PROFITEERS  47 

Peter  Phipps  was  a  man  whose  life  had  been  spent 
in  facing  and  overcoming  difficulties,  but  as  he  took 
the  chair  to  which  Josephine  had  somewhat  ungra- 
ciously pointed,  he  was  compelled  to  admit  to  him- 
self that  he  was  confronted  with  a  task  which  might 
well  tax  his  astuteness  to  the  utmost.  To  begin 
with  he  made  use  of  one  of  his  favourite  weapons, — 
silence.  He  sat  quite  still,  studying  the  situation, 
and  in  those  few  moments  Josephine  found  herself 
studying  him.  He  was  tall,  over  six  feet,  with  burly 
shoulders,  a  thickset  body,  and  legs  rather  short  for 
his  height.  He  was  clean-shaven,  his  hair  was  a 
sandy  grey,  his  complexion  florid,  his  eyes  blue  and 
piercing.  His  upper  lip  was  long,  and  his  mouth, 
when  closed,  rather  resembled  some  sort  of  a  trap. 
He  was  dressed  with  care,  almost  with  distinction. 
But  for  his  pronounced  American  accent,  he  would 
probably  have  been  taken  for  a  Scandinavian. 

"  Did  you  come  here  to  improve  your  acquaintance 
with  the  interior  of  my  sitting  room  ?  "  Josephine 
asked,  a  little  irritated  at  last  by  his  silence. 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  I  should  say  not.  I  came,  Lady  Dredlinton,  to 
talk  to  you  about  your  husband." 

"  Then  if  you  will  allow  me  to  say  so,"  Josephine 
replied,  "  you  have  come  upon  a  very  purposeless 
errand.  I  do  not  discuss  my  husband  with  any  one, 


48  THE  PROFITEERS 

for   reasons   which   I   think   we   need   not  go    into." 

Peter  Phipps  leaned  forward  in  his  chair.  It 
was  a  favourite  attitude  of  his,  and  one  which  had 
won  him  many  successes. 

"  See  here,  Lady  Dredlinton,"  he  began,  "  you 
don't  like  me.  That's  my  misfortune,  but  it  don't 
affect  the  matter  as  it  stands  at  present  between  us. 
I  have  a  kindly  feeling  for  your  husband,  and  I 
have  —  a  feeling  for  you  which  I  won't  at  present 
presume  to  refer  to." 

"  Perhaps,"  Josephine  said  calmly,  "  you  had  bet- 
ter not." 

"  That  feeling,"  Phipps  went  on,  "  has  brought  me 
here  this  afternoon.  Your  husband  is  not  playing 
the  game  with  us  any  more  than  he  is  with  you." 

"  What  do  you  know  — " 

"  Let's  cut  that  out,  shall  we,"  he  interrupted. 
"  Let's  talk  like  a  sensible  man  and  woman.  Do 
you  want  us  to  drop  your  husband  out  of  the  B.  &  I. 
Board?" 

"  Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure," 
Josephine  assured  him.  "  I  cannot  imagine  why  you 
ever  put  him  on." 

Peter  Phipps  was  a  little  staggered. 

"  Perhaps  you  don't  know,"  he  said,  "  that  your 
husband's  salary  for  doing  nothing  is  four  thousand 
pounds  a  year." 


THE  PROFITEERS  49 

"  I  suppose  you  think  him  worth  that,"  Josephine 
answered  coldly,  "  or  you  would  not  pay  it." 

"  He  is  worth  nothing  at  all,"  Phipps  declared 
bluntly.  "I  put  him  on  the  Board  and  I  am  pay- 
ing him  four  thousand  a  year  for  a  reason  which  I 
am  surprised  you  have  never  guessed." 

"How  on  earth  should  I?"  Josephine  demanded. 
"  I  know  nothing  whatever  about  business.  On  the 
face  of  it,  I  should  think  you  were  mad." 

"  We  will  leave  the  reason  for  Lord  Dredlinton's 
appointment  alone  for  the  moment,"  Phipps  con- 
tinued. "  I  imagined  that  it  would  be  gratifying  to 
you.  I  imagined  that  the  four  thousand  a  year 
would  be  of  some  account  in  your  housekeeping." 

"  You  were  entirely  wrong,  then,"  Josephine  re- 
plied. "  Whatever  Lord  Dredlinton  may  draw  from 
your  company,  he  has  kept.  Not  one  penny  of  it 
has  come  to  me,  directly  or  indirectly." 

Phipps  was  staggered.  He  did  not  doubt  for  a 
second,  however,  that  he  was  listening  to  the  truth. 

"  Say,  this  is  the  worst  thing  ever !  "  he  declared. 
"  Why,  what  do  you  suppose  your  husband  does  with 
the  money?  " 

"  I  have  no  idea,  nor  have  I  any  interest." 

"  Come,  come ! "  Phipps  murmured.  "  That's 
bad.  Of  course,"  he  went  on,  his  eyes  narrowing 
a  little  as  he  watched  his  companion  closely,  as 


50  THE  PROFITEERS 

though  to  estimate  the  effect  of  his  words,  "  of 
course,  I  knew  that  Lord  Dredlinton  had  other  inter- 
ests in  life  besides  his  domestic  ones,  but  I  had  no 
idea  that  he  carried  things  to  such  a  length." 

Josephine  glanced  at  the  clock. 

"  Will  you  forgive  my  saying  that  up  to  the  pres- 
ent you  have  not  offered  me  any  sufficient  explana- 
tion as  to  the  reason  for  your  visit?  " 

"  I  was  coming  to  it,"  he  assured  her.  "  To  tell 
you  the  truth,  you've  rather  cut  the  ground  away 
from  under  my  feet.  I  was  coming  to  tell  you  that 
Lord  Dredlinton  had  drawn  money  from  the  com- 
pany to  which  he  was  not  entitled,  besides  having 
overdrawn  his  salary  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 
cashier  has  pointed  out  to  me  serious  irregularities. 
I  came  to  you  to  know  what  I  was  to  do." 

"  I  cannot  conceive  a  person  less  able  to  advise 
you,"  she  answered.  "  I  have  said  before  that  my 
husband's  connection  with  your  company  is  one  which 
I  dislike  extremely,  and  I  should  be  delighted  to  hear 
that  it  was  ended." 

"  If  it  were  ended  at  the  present  moment,"  Phipps 
said  slowly,  "  it  would,  I  fear,  be  under  somewhat 
painful  circumstances." 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  Josephine  demanded. 

"  What  I  very  much  hate  to  put  into  plain  words. 
Your  husband  has  used  money  of  the  company's  to 


THE  PROFITEERS  51 

which  he  has  no  right.  I  have  been  paying  him  four 
thousand  a  year,  hoping  that  indirectly  I  was  benefit- 
ing you.  He  has  deceived  me.  I  see  no  reason  why 
I  should  spare  him.  The  last  money  he  drew  from 
the  company  —  his  action  in  drawing  it  amounts  to 
a  criminal  misdemeanour." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  will  prosecute  him?  " 

"Why  not?" 

Josephine  for  the  first  time  showed  signs  of  dis- 
turbance. 

"  Is  this  what  you  came  to  tell  me?  "  she  asked. 

"  In  a  sense,  yes !  " 

"  What  is  the  amount?  " 

"  The  specific  amount  in  question  is  a  thousand 
pounds." 

"  And  do  you  want  me  to  find  it  to  save  my  hus- 
band from  prison?  " 

Mr.  Phipps  was  shocked. 

"  My  dear  lady,"  he  protested,  "  you  have  utterly 
and  entirely  misunderstood  me." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,"  she  answered. 

"  You  have  misunderstood  me  if  you  imagine  for 
a  moment  that  I  came  here  to  ask  you  to  make  up 
the  amount  of  your  husband's  defalcations." 

"What  did  you  come  for,  then?" 

"  I  came,"  Peter  Phipps  declared,  "  entirely  out 
of  consideration  for  you.  I  came  to  ask  what  you 


52  THE  PROFITEERS 

wished  done,  and  to  do  it.  I  came  to  assure  you  of 
my  sympathy;  if  you  will  accept  it,  my  friendship; 
and  if  you  will  further  honour  me  by  accepting  it,  my 
help." 

"  Just  how  do  you  propose  to  help  me?  "  Josephine 
enquired. 

"  Just  in  the  way,"  he  answered,  "  that  a  man  to 
whom  money  is  of  no  account  may  sometimes  help  a 
woman  for  whom  he  has  a  most  profound,  a  most 
sincere,  a  most  respectful  admiration." 

"  You  came,  in  fact,"  Josephine  said,  "  to  place 
your  bank  account  at  my  disposal?  " 

"  I  would  never  have  ventured,"  he  protested,  "  to 
have  put  the  matter  so  crudely.  I  came  to  express 
my  admiration  for  you  and  my  desire  to  help  you." 

"  And  in  return  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  bargain,  Lady  Dredlinton,"  Phipps  said 
slowly.  "  I  must  confess  that  if  you  could  regard 
me  with  a  little  more  toleration,  if  you  would  accept 
at  any  rate  a  measure  of  my  friendship,  would  en- 
deavour, may  I  say,  to  adopt  a  more  sympathetic  at- 
titude with  regard  to  me,  it  would  give  me  the  deep- 
est pleasure." 

Josephine  shook  her  head. 

"  Mr.  Phipps,"  she  said,  "  you  have  the  name  of 
being  a  very  hard-headed  and  shrewd  business  man. 
You  come  here  offering  my  husband's  honour  and 


THE  PROFITEERS  53 

your  banking  account.  I  could  not  possibly  accept 
these  things  from  a  person  to  whom  I  can  make  no 
return.  If  you  will  let  me  know  the  exact  amount 
of  my  husband's  defalcation,  I  will  try  and  pay  it." 

"  You  cannot  believe,"  he  exclaimed  almost  an- 
grily, "  that  I  came  here  to  take  your  money?  " 

"  Did  you  come  here  believing  that  I  was  going  to 
take  yours  ?  "  she  asked. 

Peter  Phipps,  who  knew  men  through  and  through 
and  had  also  a  profound  acquaintance  with  women 
of  a  certain  class,  was  face  to  face  for  once  with  a 
type  of  which  he  knew  little.  The  woman  who  could 
refuse  his  millions,  offered  in  such  a  manner,  for  him 
could  have  no  real  existence.  Somewhere  or  other  he 
must  have  blundered,  he  told  himself.  Or  perhaps 
she  was  clever;  she  was  leading  him  on  to  more  def- 
inite things? 

"  I  came  here,  Lady  Dredlinton,"  he  said,  "  pre- 
pared to  offer,  if  you  would  accept  it,  everything  I 
possess  in  the  world  in  return  for  a  little  kindness." 

Phipps  had  not  heard  the  knock  at  -the  door, 
though  he  saw  the  change  in  Josephine's  face.  She 
rose  to  her  feet  with  a  transfiguring  smile. 

"  How  lucky  I  am,"  she  exclaimed,  "  to  have  a 
witness  to  such  a  wonderful  offer !  " 

Wingate  paused  for  a  moment  in  his  passage 
across  the  room.  His  outstretched  hand  fell  to  his 


54  THE  PROFITEERS 

side.  The  expression  of  eagerness  with  which  he 
had  approached  Josephine  disappeared  from  his 
face.  He  confronted  Phipps,  who  had  also  risen 
to  his  feet,  as  a  right-living  man  should  confront 
his  enemy.  There  was  a  second  or  two  of  tense 
silence,  broken  by  Phipps,  who  was  the  first  to  re- 
cover himself. 

"  Welcome  to  London,  Mr.  Wingate,"  he  said. 
"  I  was  hoping  to  see  you  this  morning  in  the  City. 
This  is  perhaps  a  more  fortunate  meeting." 

"  You  two  know  each  other?  "  Josephine  mur- 
mured. 

"  We  are  old  acquaintances,"  Wingate  replied. 

"  And  business  rivals,"  Phipps  put  in  cheerfully. 
"  A  certain  wholesome  rivalry,  Lady  Dredlinton,  is 
good  for  us  all.  In  whatever  camp  I  find  myself, 
I  generally  find  Mr.  Wingate  in  the  opposite 
one.  I  have  an  idea,  in  fact,"  he  went  on,  "  that 
we  are  on  the  point  of  recommencing  our  friendly 
rivalry." 

Josephine,  who  had  been  standing  up  for  the 
last  few  moments,  touched  the  bell. 

"  You.  will  keep  your  rivalry  for  the  City,  I 
trust,"  she  said. 

It  was  just  then  that  Phipps  surprised  a  little 
glance  flashed  from  Josephine  to  Wingate.  He 
seemed  suddenly  to  increase  in  size,  to  become  more 


THE  PROFITEERS  55 

menacing,  portentous.  There  was  thunder  upon 
his  forehead.  He  seemed  on  the  point  of  passion- 
ate speech.  At  that  moment  the  butler  opened  the 
door  and  Josephine  held  out  her  hand. 

"  It  was  very  kind  of  you  to  call,  Mr.  Phipps.  I 
will  think  over  all  that  you  have  said,  and  discuss 
it  —  with  my  husband." 

Phipps  had  regained  command  of  himself.  He 
bowed  low  over  her  hand  but  could  not  keep  the 
malice  from  his  tone. 

"  You  could  not  have  a  better  counsellor,"  he 
declared. 

Neither  Josephine  nor  Wingate  spoke  a  word  until 
the  door  was  finally  closed  after  the  unwelcome 
caller  and  they  heard  his  heavy  tread  retreating 
down  the  hall.  Then  she  sank  back  upon  the  couch 
and  motioned  him  to  sit  by  her  side. 

"  I  suppose  I  am  an  idiot,"  she  acknowledged, 
"  but  that  man  terrifies  me." 

"In  what  way?" 

"  He  is  my  husband's  associate  in  business," 
Josephine  said,  "and  apparently  desires  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  that  fact.  My  husband  is  not  a  reliable 
person  where  money  is  concerned.  He  seems  to 
have  been  behaving  rather  badly." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,"  Wingate  murmured. 

She  looked  at  him  curiously. 


56  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Has  anything  happened  ?  "  she  asked.  "  You 
seem  distressed." 

Wingate  shook  his  head.  The  shock  of  having 
met  his  enemy  under  such  circumstances  was  be- 
ginning to  pass. 

"  Forgive  me,"  he  begged.  "  The  fact  of  it  is, 
the  last  person  I  expected  to  find  here  was  Peter 
Phipps.  I  forgot  that  your  husband  was  con- 
nected with  his  company." 

"  You  two  are  not  friends  ?  "  she  suggested. 

"  We  are  bitter  enemies,"  Wingate  confessed, 
"  and  shall  be  till  one  of  us  goes  down.  We  are  a 
very  terrible  example  of  the  evils  of  this  age  of  re- 
straint. In  more  primitive  days  we  should  have 
gone  for  one  another's  throats.  One  would  have 
lived  and  the  other  died.  It  would  have  been 
better." 

Josephine  shivered. 

"  Don't !  "  she  implored.  "  You  sound  too  much 
in  earnest." 

"  I  am  in  earnest  about  that  man,"  he  replied 
gravely.  "  I  beg  you,  Lady  Dredlinton,  as  I  hope 
to  call  myself  your  friend,  not  to  trust  him,  not  to 
•encourage  him  to  visit  you,  to  keep  him  always  at 
arm's  length." 

"  And  I,"  she  answered,  holding  out  her  hand, 
"  as  I  hope  and  mean  to  be  —  as  I  am  your  friend  — 


THE  PROFITEERS  57 

promise  that  I  will  have  no  more  to  do  with  him  than 
the  barest  courtesy  demands.  To  tell  you  the 
truth,  your  coming  this  afternoon  was  a  little  in- 
opportune. If  you  had  been  a  single  minute  later,  I 
honestly  believe  that  he  would  have  said  unforgiv- 
able things." 

Wingate's  eyes  flashed. 

"  If  I  could  have  heard  him !  "  he  muttered. 

"  But,  dear  friend,  you  could  have  said  nothing- 
nor  done  anything,"  she  reminded  him  soothingly. 
"  Remember  that  although  we  are  a  little  older 
friends  than  many  people  know  of,  we  still  have 
some  distance  to  go  in  understanding." 

"  I  want  to  be  your  friend,  and  I  want  to  be  your 
friend  quickly,"  he  said  doggedly. 

"  No  one  in  the  world  needs  friends  as  I  do,'* 
Josephine  answered,  "  because  I  do  not  think  that 
any  one  is  more  lonely." 

"  You  have  changed,"  he  told  her,  his  eyes  full 
of  sympathy. 

"Since  Etaples?  Yes!  Somehow  or  other,  I 
was  always  able  to  keep  cheerful  there  because  there 
was  always  so  much  real  misery  around,  and  one  felt 
that  one  was  doing  good  in  the  world.  Here  I  seem 
to  be  such  a  useless  person,  no  good  to  anybody." 

"  If  you  say  things  like  that,  I  shall  forget  how 
far  we  have  to  travel,"  he  declared.  "  I  need  your 


58  THE  PROFITEERS 

friendship.  I  have  come  over  here  with  rather  a 
desperate  purpose.  I  think  I  can  say  that  I  have 
never  known  fear,  and  yet  sometimes  I  flinch  when 
I  think  of  the  next  few  months.  I  want  a  real 
friend,  Lady  Dredlinton." 

She  gave  him  her  hand. 

"  Josephine,  if  you  please,"  she  said,  "  and  all  the 
friendship  you  care  to  claim.  There,  see  how  rap- 
idly we  have  progressed!  You  have  been  here 
barely  a  quarter  of  an  hour  and  I  have  given  you 
what  really  means  a  great  deal  to  me." 

"  I  shall  prize  it,"  he  assured  her,  "  and  I  shall 
justify  it." 

They  began  to  talk  of  their  first  meeting,  of  the 
doctors  and  friends  whom  they  had  known  together. 
The  time  slipped  away.  It  was  nearly  seven  o'clock 
when  he  rose  to  leave.  Even  then  she  seemed  loath 
to  let  him  go. 

"  What  are  you  doing  this  evening? "  she  en- 
quired. 

"  Nothing,"  he  answered  promptly. 

"  Come  back  and  dine  here,"  she  begged.  "  I 
warn  you,  no  one  is  coming,  but  I  think  you  had 
better  meet  Henry,  and,  to  proceed  to  the  more  self- 
ish part  of  it  all,  I  rather  dread  a  tete-a-tete  din- 
ner this  evening.  Will  you  be  very  good-natured 
and  come?  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  59 

He  held  her  hands  and  looked  into  her  eyes. 

"  Josephine,"  he  asked,  "  do  you  think  it  needs 
any  good  nature  on  my  part?  " 

She  met  his  gaze  frankly  enough  at  first,  smiling 
gratefully  at  his  ready  acceptance.  And  then  a 
curious  change  came.  She  felt  her  heart  begin  to 
beat  faster,  the  strange  intrusion  of  a  new  element 
into  her  life  and  thoughts  and  being.  It  was  shin- 
ing out  of  her  eyes,  something  which  made  her  a 
little  afraid  yet  ridiculously  light-hearted.  Sud- 
denly she  felt  the  colour  burning  in  her  cheeks.  She 
withdrew  her  hands,  lost  her  presence  of  mind,  and 
found  it  again  at  the  sound  of  the  servant's  ap- 
proaching footsteps. 

"  About  eight  o'clock,  then,"  she  said.  "A  din- 
ner coat  will  do  unless  you  are  going  on  somewhere. 
Henry  will  be  so  glad  to  meet  you." 

"  It  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  meet  Lord 
Dredlinton,"  Wingate  murmured,  as  he  made  his. 
farewell  bow. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Dredlinton  House,  before  which  Wingate  pre- 
sented himself  punctually  at  eight  o'clock  that  even- 
ing, had  a  sombre,  almost  a  deserted  appearance. 
The  great  bell  which  he  pealed  seemed  to  ring 
through  empty  spaces.  His  footsteps  echoed 
strangely  in  the  lofty  white  stone  hall  as  he  followed 
the  butler  into  a  small  anteroom,  from  which,  how- 
ever, he  was  rescued  a  few  minutes  later  by  Jose- 
phine's maid. 

"  Her  ladyship  will  be  glad  if  you  will  come  to  the 
boudoir,"  she  invited.  "  Dinner  is  to  be  served 
there.  If  monsieur  will  follow  me." 

Wingate  passed  up  the  famous  staircase,  around 
which  was  a  little  semicircle  of  closed  doors,  and  was 
ushered  into  a  small  apartment  on  the  first  floor, 
through  the  shielded  windows  of  which  he  caught 
glimpses  of  green  trees.  The  room  was  like  a  little 
fairy  chamber,  decorated  in  white  and  the  faintest 
shade  of  mauve.  In  the  center,  a  white  and  gold 
round  table  was  prepared  for  the  service  of  dinner, 
some  wonderful  cut  glass  and  a  little  bunch  of  mauve 
sweet  peas  its  only  decoration. 


THE  PROFITEERS  61 

"  Her  ladyship  will  be  down  in  a  moment,"  the 
maid  announced,  as  she  lowered  the  blind  a  little 
more  to  keep  out  the  last  gleam  of  sunlight.  "  If 
monsieur  will  be  seated." 

Wingate  ignored  the  silent  invitation  of  the  vol- 
uptuous little  settee  with  its  pile  of  cushions.  He 
stood  instead  upon  the  hearth  rug,  gazing  around 
him.  The  room,  in  its  way,  was  a  revelation. 
Josephine,  ever  since  their  first  meeting  at  Etaplesy 
had  always  seemed  to  him  to  carry  with  her  a  faint 
suggestion  of  sadness,  which  everything  in  this  little 
apartment  seemed  to  contradict.  The  silverpoint 
etchings  upon  the  wall  were  of  the  school  of  Hellieu, 
delicate  but  daring,  exquisite  in  workmanship  and 
design,  the  last  word  in  the  expression  of  modern 
life  and  love.  A  study  of  Psyche,  in  white  marble, 
fascinated  him  with  its  wonderful  outline  and  sense 
of  arrested  motion.  The  atmosphere  appeared  to 
him  intensely  feminine  and  yet  strange.  He  realised 
suddenly  that  it  contained  no  knick-knacks,  —  noth- 
ing, in  short,  but  books  and  flowers.  Perhaps  his 
greatest  surprise,  however,  came  at  the  opening  of 
the  door.  It  seemed  at  first  that  he  was  confronted 
by  a  stranger.  The  woman  who  entered  in  a  per- 
fectly white  gown  of  some  clinging  material,  with  a 
single  row  of  pearls  around  her  neck,  with  ringless 
fingers  and  plainly  coiled  hair,  seemed  like  the  ghost 


62  THE  PROFITEERS 

of  her  own  girlhood.  It  was  only  when  she  smiled, 
a  smile  which,  curiously  enough,  seemed  to  bring  back 
something  of  that  aging  sadness  into  her  face,  that 
he  found  himself  able  to  readjust  his  tangled  impres- 
sions. Then  he  realised  that  she  was  no  longer  a 
girl,  that  she  was  indeed  a  woman,  beautiful,  grace- 
ful, serious,  with  all  the  charm  of  her  greater  phys- 
ical and  spiritual  maturity. 

"  Please  don't  think,"  she  begged,  as  she  sank  into 
the  settee  by  which  he  was  standing,  "  that  I  have 
inveigled  you  here  under  false  pretences.  Henry 
took  the  trouble  to  ring  me  up  from  the  City  this 
morning  to  say  that  he  should  be  dining  at  home  — 
such  an  unusual  event  that  I  took  it  for  granted  it 
meant  a  tete-a-tete.  —  I  don't  quite  know  why  I  treat 
you  with  such  an  extraordinary  amount  of  confi- 
dence," she  went  on,  "  but  I  feel  that  I  must  and  it 
helps  me  so  much.  A  tete-a-tete  dinner  with  my 
husband  would  have  been  insupportable.  I  should 
have  had  to  telephone  to  Sarah  Baldwin  if  you  had 
not  been  available.  Sarah  would  probably  have 
been  engaged,  and  then  I  should  have  had  to  have 
gone  to  bed  with  a  headache." 

"  You  don't  imagine,"  he  asked,  smiling,  "  that  I 
am  disappointed  at  your  husband's  absence?  " 

"  I  hope  not,"  she  answered,  raising  her  eyes  to 
]his  for  a  moment. 


THE  PROFITEERS  63 

"  Let  me  imitate  your  adorable  frankness,"  he 
begged.  "  I  hope  your  husband's  absence  this  even- 
ing is  not  because  he  objects  to  meeting  me?  " 

"  Of  course  not,"  she  replied  wonderingly. 
"  Why  on  earth  should  he  object  to  meeting  you?  " 

"  You  probably  don't  know,"  Wingate  replied, 
"  that  I  am  in  a  sort  of  way  the  declared  enemy  of 
the  British  and  Imperial  Granaries  —  Phipps'  latest 
escapade  —  of  which  your  husband  is  a  director." 

"  I  am  sure  that  would  not  have  made  the  slight- 
est difference,"  she  replied.  "  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
he  had  no  idea  that  you  were  coming  this  evening  — 
I  had  no  opportunity  of  telling  him.  A  servant 
rang  up  from  the  club,  half  an  hour  ago,  to  say  that 
he  would  not  be  home.  Come,  here  is  dinner.  Will 
you  sit  there? "  she  invited,  indicating  the  chair 
which  a  trim  parlour  maid  was  holding.  "  I  hope 
you  can  eat  quite  simple  things.  One  scarcely 
knows  what  to  order,  this  hot  weather." 

Wingate  took  his  place,  and  the  conversation 
merged  into  those  indefinite  channels  necessitated  by 
the  presence  of  servants.  The  dinner,  simple 
though  it  was,  was  perfect, —  iced  consomme,  a  lob- 
ster mayonnaise,  cold  cutlets  and  asparagus.  Pres- 
ently the  little  movable  sideboard,  with  its  dainty 
collection  of  cold  dishes  and  salads,  was  wheeled  out- 
side by  the  solitary  maid  who  waited  upon  them,  and 


64  THE  PROFITEERS 

nothing  was  left  upon  the  table  but  a  delicately- 
shaped  Venetian  decanter  of  Chateau  Yquem, 
liqueurs  in  tiny  bottles,  the  coffee  served  in  a  jug  of 
beaten  copper,  and  an  ivory  box  of  cigarettes. 
With  the  closing  of  the  door,  a  different  atmosphere 
seemed  immediately  created.  They  smiled  into  one 
another's  eyes  in  mutual  appreciation. 

"  I  was  dying  to  send  Laura  away,"  she  con- 
fessed. "  Why  do  servants  get  on  one's  nerves  so 
when  one  wants  to  talk?  I  don't  think  I  ever  no- 
ticed it  before  so  much." 

"  Nor  I,"  he  admitted.  "  Now  we  are  alone  there 
is  a  sort  of  luxury  in  thinking  that  one  may  open 
any  one  of  those  subjects  I  want  so  much  to  discuss 
with  you,  and  perhaps  a  greater  luxury  still  is  the 

lingering,  the  feeling  that  unless   one   chooses   one 

i 

need  say  nothing  and  yet  be  understood." 

"  Sympathetic  person !  "  she  sighed.  "  Tell  me, 
by  the  by,  did  you  notice  an  air  of  desertion  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  house?  " 

"  There  seemed  to  be  echoes,"  he  admitted.  "  I 
noticed  it  more  this  afternoon." 

"  The  whole  of  the  rooms  downstairs  were  fitted 
up  as  a  small  hospital  during  the  last  year  of  the 
war,"  she  explained.  "  It  was  after  I  had  a  slight 
breakdown  and  was  sent  back  from  Etaples.  Some 
of  our  patients  stayed  on  for  months  afterwards, 


THE  PROFITEERS  65 

and  we  have  never  had  the  place  put  to  rights  yet. 
One  or  two  rooms  are  quite  sufficient  for  us  in  these 
days." 

"  It  seems  to  be  a  wing  by  itself  that  remains 
empty,"  Wingate  ruminated. 

"  The  house  might  have  been  built  for  the  pur- 
pose we  put  it  to,"  she  said.  "  The  rooms  we  turned 
into  a  hospital  are  quite  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
place.  If  ever  you  murder  Peter  Phipps  and  want 
a  hiding  place,  I  shall  be  able  to  provide  you  with 
one !  " 

He  was  looking  unusually  thoughtful.  It  was 
evident  that  he  was  pursuing  some  train  of  reflection 
suggested  by  her  words.  At  the  mention  of  Phipps' 
name,  however,  he  came  back  to  earth. 

"  I  think  I  should  rather  like  to  murder  Phipps," 
he  confessed.  "  The  worst  of  it  is,  the  laws  are  so 
ridiculously  undiscriminating.  One  would  have  to 
pay  the  same  penalty  for  murdering  him  as  for  get- 
ting rid  of  an  ordinary  human  being." 

"  Queer  how  I  share  your  hatred  of  that  person," 
she  murmured. 

"  Was  he  trying  to  make  love  to  you  this  after- 
noon ?  "  Wingate  asked  bluntly. 

"  He  was  just  too  clever,"  she  replied,  "  to  put 
it  into  plain  words.  His  instinct  told  him  what  the 
result  would  be,  so  he  decided  to  wait  a  little  longer, 


66  THE  PROFITEERS 

although  just  towards  the  end  he  nearly  gave  him- 
self away.  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  she  went  on,  "  he 
was  rather  tediously  melodramatic.  My  husband,  it 
seems,  is  in  disgrace  with  the  company  —  has  over- 
drawn, or  helped  himself  to  money,  or  something  of 
the  sort.  I  rather  fancy  that  I  am  cast  for  the  role 
of  self-sacrificing  wife,  who  saves  her  husband  from 
prison  by  little  acts  of  kindness  to  his  wronged  part- 
ner. Somehow  or  other,  I  don't  think  the  role  suits 
me.  I  am  a  very  hard-hearted  woman,  I  suppose, 
but  I  don't  believe  I  should  lift  up  my  little  finger  to 
save  Henry  from  prison.  Besides,  I  hate  the  Brit- 
ish and  Imperial  Granaries." 

"Why?  "he  asked. 

"  I  hate  the  principle  of  gambling  in  commodities 
that  are  necessary  for  the  poor,"  she  answered.  "  I 
don't  pretend  to  be  a  philanthropist,  or  charitable, 
or  anything  of  that  sort.  I  am  wrapped  up  in  my 
own  life  and  its  unhappiness.  At  the  same  time,  I 
would  never  receive  as  a  friend  any  one  who  in- 
dulged in  that  sort  of  speculation." 

He  looked  at  her  thoughtfully,  for  once  without 
that  absorbing  personal  interest  which  had  sprung 
up  like  a  flame  in  his  life.  He  felt  that  underneath 
her  words  lay  real  earnestness,  real  purpose. 

"Tell  me,"  he  asked,  a  little  abruptly,  "if  I 
started  a  crusade  against  the  British  and  Imperial, 


THE  PROFITEERS  67 

outside  the   Stock  Exchange   altogether,   if   I  em- 
barked in  a  crude  and  illegal  scheme  to  break  them 
up,  would  you  help  me  ?  " 

"  To  the  fullest  extent  of  my  power,"  she  an- 
swered eagerly.  "  Tell  me  about  it  at  once, 
please  ?  " 

"  Not  for  a  few  days,"  he  replied.  "  I  have  to 
think  out  many  details,  to  get  my  tools  together, 
and  then  to  decide  whether  I  should  have  a  reason- 
able chance  of  success." 

"  Promise  me  that  I  shall  help?  "  she  insisted. 

"  I  promise  that  you  shall  have  the  opportunity." 

She  rose  from  her  chair  and  settled  down  in  a  cor- 
ner of  the  settee.  With  a  little  half-conscious  ges- 
ture she  invited  him  to  take  the  place  by  her  side. 

"  Do  you  know,"  she  said,  "  that  you  are  making 
life  much  more  endurable  for  me?  " 

"  You  should  never  believe  it  unendurable,"  he 
told  her  firmly.  "  Whatever  one  has  suffered,  and 
however  dreary  the  present,  there  is  always  the 
future." 

"  I  wonder,"  she  murmured.  "  In  this  life  or  the 
next?" 

"  In  this  one,"  he  answered. 

"  Are  you,  by  the  by,  a  believer  in  anything  be- 
yond ?  "  she  went  on. 

"  A  struggling  one,"  he  replied.     "  I  have  wanted 


68  THE  PROFITEERS 

so  much  to  believe  that  I  think  I  have  at  times  al- 
most succeeded." 

"  I  believe,"  she  said  reflectively,  "  but  I  cannot 
analyse  my  belief.  I  am  most  content  when  I  keep 
my  brain  shut  off  from  it  and  consider  it  as  an  in- 
stinct. I  try  to  tell  myself  that  the  power  which  is 
responsible  for  the  sorrows  of  this  world  must  pro- 
vide compensation.  Even  history  can  show  us  that 
this  has  always  been  the  case.  Yesterday,"  she 
continued,  "  I  went  to  a  spiritual  seance.  I  found 
nothing.  I  shall  go  to  the  next  thing  of  the  sort 
which  any  one  suggests.  I  am  like  the  hypochon- 
driac with  his  list  of  patent  medicines.  I  try  them 
all,  but  my  heart  still  aches." 

"  I  think,"  he  admitted,  "  that  au  fond  I  have, 
like  most  men,  a  strong  leaven  of  materialism  in  me. 
I  have  had  my  disappointments  in  life.  I  want  my 
compensations  here,  in  the  same  world  where  I  have 
suffered." 

"  Why  should  we  not  try  to  believe,  like  La  Fon- 
taine," she  questioned,  "  that  sorrow  and  unhappi- 
ness  are  akin  to  disease,  a  mental  instead  of  a  phys- 
ical scourge  —  that  it  must  pass  just  as  in- 
evitably?" 

"  It  is  a  comfortable  philosophy,"  he  confessed. 
"Could  you  adopt  it?" 

"  In  my  blackest  moments  I  should  have  scoffed 


THE  PROFITEERS  69 

at  the  idea,"  she  replied.  "  One  thing  I  know  quite 
well,  though,  is  unchanging,"  she  continued,  her  face 
losing  all  the  gentle  softness  which  a  moment  before 
he  had  found  so  fascinating,  so  reminiscent  of  those 
sad,  sleepy-eyed  women  immortalised  by  the  masters 
of  the  Renaissance.  "  That  is  my  hatred  of  every- 
thing and  everybody  connected  with  my  present 
life." 

"  Everybody?  "  he  murmured. 

She  stretched  out  her  hand  impulsively.  He  held 
it  in  his  with  a  tender,  caressing  clasp.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  need  of  words.  The  moment  was  in 
its  way  so  wonderful  that  neither  of  them  heard  the 
opening  of  the  door.  It  was  only  the  surprised  ex- 
clamation of  the  man  who  had  entered  which  brought 
them  back  to  a  very  sordid  present. 


CHAPTER  VII 

"  I  fear,"  the  newcomer  remarked,  as  he  softly 
closed  the  door  behind  him,  "  that  I  am  an  intruder. 
Perhaps,  Josephine,  I  may  be  favoured  with  an  in- 
troduction to  this  gentleman?  He  is  a  stranger  to 
me,  so  far  as  I  remember.  An  old  friend  of  yours, 
I  presume?  " 

He  advanced  a  step  or  two  farther  into  the  room, 
a  slim,  effeminate-looking  person  of  barely  medium 
height,  dressed  with  the  utmost  care,  of  apparently 
no  more  than  middle  age  but  with  crow's-feet  about 
his  eyes  and  sagging  pockets  of  flesh  underneath 
them.  His  closely  trimmed,  sandy  moustache  was 
streaked  with  grey,  his  eyes  were  a  little  bloodshot, 
he  had  the  shrinking  manner  of  one  who  suffers  from 
habitual  nervousness.  Josephine,  after  her  first 
start  of  surprise,  watched  him  with  coldly  question- 
ing eyes. 

"  I  hope  you  have  dined,  Henry,"  she  said.  "  A 
waiter  rang  up  from  somewhere  to  say  you  would 
not  be  home." 


"  A  message  which  I  do  not  doubt  left  you  incon- 
solable," he  observed,  with  a  little  curl  of  his  lips. 
"  Do  not  distress  yourself,  I  pray.  I  have  dined  at 
the  club,  and  I  have  only  come  home  to  change.  I 
am  on  my  way  to  a  party.  I  would  not  have  in- 
truded if  your  maid  had  shown  her  usual  discre- 
tion." 

Josephine  ignored  the  insolent  innuendo. 

"  You  do  not  know  my  husband,  I  think,  Mr. 
Wingate,"  she  said, — "  Mr.  John  Wingate  —  Lord 
Dredlinton." 

The  newcomer's  manner  underwent  a  sudden 
change. 

"  What,  John  Wingate  from  New  York?  "  he  ex- 
claimed. 

Wingate  assented  briefly.  Lord  Dredlinton  ad- 
vanced at  once  with  outstretched  hand.  All  the 
amiability  which  he  could  muster  at  a  moment's  no- 
tice was  diffused  into  his  tone  and  manner. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  he  said,  "  I  am  delighted  to  meet 
you.  I  have  just  been  dining  with  our  mutual 
friend,  Peter  Phipps,  and  your  name  was  the  last 
mentioned.  I,  in  fact,  accepted  a  commission  to 
find  you  out  and  convey  a  message  from  Phipps. 
There  is  a  little  matter  in  which  you  are  both  indi- 
rectly interested  which  he  wants  to  discuss." 

Wingate  had  risen  to  his  feet.     By  the  side  of  the 


72  THE  PROFITEERS 

slighter  man,  his  height  and  appearance  seemed  al- 
most imposing. 

"  To  be  quite  frank  with  you,  Lord  Dredlinton," 
he  said,  as  he  returned  the  newcomer's  greeting 
without  enthusiasm,  "  I  cannot  imagine  any  subject 
in  which  I  could  share  an  interest  with  Mr.  Phipps." 

Lord  Dredlinton  was  politely  surprised. 

"  Is  that  so  ?  Peter  Phipps  is  an  awfully  good 
fellow." 

"  Mr.  Phipps  is  a  director  of  the  British  and  Im- 
perial Granaries,  Limited,"  Wingate  said  quietly. 

"  So  am  I,"  Lord  Dredlinton  announced,  with  a 
bland  smile. 

"  I  am  aware  of  it,"  was  the  curt  reply. 

"You  don't  approve  of  our  company?  " 

"  I  do  not." 

Lord  Dredlinton  shrugged  his  shoulders.  He  lit 
a  cigarette  and  dismissed  the  subject. 

"  Well,  well,"  he  continued  amiably,  "  there  is  no 
need  for  us  to  quarrel,  I  hope.  We  all  look  at 
things  differently  in  this  world,  and,  fortunately,  the 
matter  which  I  want  to  discuss  with  you  lies  right 
outside  the  operations  of  the  B.  &  I.  When  can  you 
give  me  a  few  moments  of  your  time,  Mr.  Wingate? 
Will  you  call  around  at  our  offices,  Number  13, 
Throgmorton  Street,  next  Tuesday  morning  at,  say, 
eleven-thirty  ?  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  73 

Wingate  was  a  little  perplexed. 

"  I  don't  want  to  waste  your  time,  Lord  Dred- 
linton,"  he  said.  "  Can't  you  give  me  some  idea  as 
to  the  nature  of  this  business?" 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  can't,"  the  other  con- 
fided. "  It's  more  Phipps'  affair  than  mine.  I'll 
promise,  though,  that  we  won't  keep  you  for  longer 
than  ten  minutes." 

"  I  will  come  then,"  Wingate  acquiesced  a  little 
doubtfully.  "  I  must  warn  you,  however,  that  be- 
tween Phipps  and  myself  there  is  a  quarrel  of  an- 
cient standing.  We  meet  as  acquaintances  because 
the  conventions  of  the  world  make  anything  else 
ridiculous.  One  of  my  objects  in  coining  to  this 
side  is  to  consider  whether  I  can  find  any  reason- 
able means  of  attacking  the  very  disgraceful  trust 
with  which  you  and  he  are  associated." 

Lord  Dredlinton  remained  entirely  unruffled.  He 
shrugged  his  shoulders  with  an  air  of  protest. 

"  You  are  a  little  severe,  Mr.  Wingate,"  he  said, 
"  but  I  promise  you  that  Phipps  shall  keep  his  tem- 
per and  that  I  will  not  be  drawn  into  a  quarrel.  I 
am  very  pleased  to  see  you  here.  My  wife's  friends 
are  always  mine.  —  If  you  will  excuse  me,  I  will  go 
and  change  my  clothes  now.  I  have  been  inveigled 
into  the  last  word  of  our  present-day  frivolities  —  a 
theatrical  supper  party." 


74  THE  PROFITEERS 

He  turned  away,  with  an  enigmatic  smile  at  his 
wife  and  a  ceremonious  bow  to  Wingate,  and  closed 
the  door  behind  him  carefully.  They  heard  his 
retreating  footsteps  on  the  stairs;  then  Wingate 
resumed  his  seat  by  Josephine's  side. 

"  Do  you  mind  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Not  a  scrap,"  she  replied.  "  Besides,  it  has 
given  Henry  such  immense  pleasure.  I  am  quite 
sure  that  he  never  believed  it  possible  that  I  should 
be  found  holding  another  man's  hand.  Or,"  she 
went  on,  with  a  little  grimace,  "  that  any  other  man 
would  want  to  hold  it." 

"  It  is  possible,"  Wingate  said  deliberately,  "  that 
your  husband  may  have  further  surprises  of  that 
nature  in  store  for  him." 

She  laughed.     "  Is  that  a  threat?  " 

"  If  you  like  to  regard  it  as  such.  You  will  find 
out  before  long  that  I  am  a  terribly  persistent 
person." 

"  I  wonder,"  she  remarked  thoughtfully,  "  what 
could  have  made  him  so  extraordinarily  agreeable  to 
you." 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  was  surprised,"  Win- 
gate  replied.  "  And  Peter  Phipps,  too !  What  can 
they  want  with  me  down  at  Throgmorton  Street? 
They  can't  imagine  that  they  can  hustle  me  into  the 
market?  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  75 

"  Henry  was  very  much  in  earnest,"  she  told 
him. 

Wingate's  face  darkened  for  a  moment. 

"  They  couldn't  suspect  —  No,  that  wouldn't  be 
possible !  " 

"Suspect  what?" 

"  That  my  enmity  to  the  B;.  &  I.,"  he  went  on,  in  a 
low  tone,  "  is  beginning  to  take  definite  shape." 

"  Just  what  do  you  mean  by  that?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  have  just  the  glimmerings  of  a  scheme,"  he 
told  her.  "  It  will  be  something  entirely  unex- 
pected, and  it  will  mean  a  certain  amount  of 
risk." 

"  Don't  forget  that  you  have  promised  to  let  me 
help,"  she  reminded  him. 

"  If  I  strike,"  he  said,  "  it  will  be  at  the  directors. 
Your  husband  will  suffer  with  the  rest." 

"  That  would  not  affect  my  attitude  in  the  least," 
she  assured  him.  "  As  I  think  you  must  have 
gathered,  there  is  no  manner  of  sympathy  between 
my  husband  and  myself." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,"  he  declared 
bluntly.  "  If  there  had  been,  I  should  have  felt  it 
my  duty  to  advise  you  to  use  all  your  influence  to 
get  him  to  resign  from  the  Board." 

"As  bad  as  that?" 

"  As  bad  as  that,"  he  answered. 


76  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  You  can't  tell  me  anything  about  your  scheme 
yet?" 

"  Not  yet." 

"  How  is  it,"  she  asked,  "  that  they  have  been  al- 
lowed to  operate  in  wheat  to  this  enormous  extent  ?  " 

"  Well,  for  one  thing,"  he  told  her,  "  the  company 
has  been  planned  and  worked  out  with  simply  diabol- 
ical cleverness.  They  are  inside  the  law  all  the 
time,  and  they  manage  to  keep  there.  Their  agents 
are  so  camouflaged  that  you  can't  tell  for  whom 
they  are  buying.  Then  they  command  an  immense 
capital." 

"  The  others  must  have  found  it,  then,"  she  ob- 
served. "  My  husband  is  almost  without  means." 

"  Phipps  has  supporters,"  Wingate  said  thought- 
fully. "  They'll  carry  on  this  combine  until  the  last 
moment,  until  a  Government  commission,  or  some- 
thing of  the  sort,  looks  like  intervening.  Then 
they'll  probably  let  a  dozen  of  their  subsidiary  com- 
panies go  smash,  and  Peter  Phipps,  Skinflint  Mar- 
tin and  Rees  will  be  multimillionaires.  Incidentally, 
the  whole  of  their  enormous  profits-  will  have  come 
from  the  working  classes." 

"  However  visionary  it  is,  I  want  to  know  about 
your  scheme,"  she  persisted. 

"  I  cannot  make  up  my  mind  to  bring  you  into 
it,"  he  declared  doubtfully.  "  It  is  practically  a 


THE  PROFITEERS  77 

one-man  show,  and  it  is  —  well,  a  little  primitive." 

"  Do  you  think  I  mind  that  ?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 
"  The  only  point  worth  considering  is,  could  I  help  ? 
You  know  in  your  heart  that  you  could  not  make 
me  afraid." 

"  I  shall  take  you  into  my  confidence,  at  any 
rate,"  he  promised,  "  and  you  shall  decide  after- 
wards. I  warn  you,  you  will  think  that  I  have 
drunk  deep  of  the  Bowery  melodrama." 

"  I  shall  mind  nothing,"  she  laughed  as  she  as- 
sured him.  "When  do  we  begin?" 

Wingate  was  thoughtful  for  a  moment  or  two. 
They  both  heard  the  opening  of  a  heavy  door  down 
below,  the  hailing  of  a  taxi  by  the  butler,  and 
Dredlinton's  voice  in  the  street. 

"  Is  that  your  husband  going  ?  "  he  enquired. 

She  nodded. 

"  Then  I  am  going  to  make  a  most  singular  re- 
quest," he  said.  "  I  am  going  to  ask  you  whether 
you  would  show  me  over  the  portion  of  the  house 
which  you  used  as  a  hospital." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Wingate  returned  to  his  rooms  at  the  Milan  about 
eleven  o'clock  that  evening,  to  find  Roger  Kendrick, 
Maurice  White  and  the  Honourable  Jimmy  Wil- 
shaw  stretched  out  in  his  most  comfortable  chairs, 
drinking  whiskies  and  sodas  and  smoking  cigarettes. 

"  Welcome ! "  he  exclaimed,  smiling  upon  them 
from  the  threshold.  "  Are  you  all  here  ?  Is  there 
any  one  I  forgot  to  invite?" 

"  The  man's  tone  is  inhospitable,"  the  Honour- 
able Jimmy  murmured,  showing  no  inclination  to 
rise. 

"  I  decline  to  apologise,"  Kendrick  said.  "  The 
fact  of  it  is,  we're  here  for  your  good,  Wingate. 
We  are  here  to  see  that  you  do  not  die  of  ennui  and 
loneliness  in  this  stony-hearted  city." 

"  In  other  words,"  Maurice  White  chimed  in, 
"  we  are  here  to  take  you  to  the  great  supper- 
party." 

"  Well,  I'm  glad  to  hear  about  it,"  Wingate  de- 
clared, giving  his  coat  and  hat  to  the  valet  who  had 


THE  PROFITEERS  79 

followed  him  in.  "  Why  don't  you  fellows  sit  down 
and  have  a  drink?" 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  Kendrick  sighed,  "  sarcasm 
does  not  become  you.  We  are  all  drinking  —  your 
whisky.  Also,  I  believe,  smoking  your  cigarettes. 
Your  servant  —  admirable  fellow,  that  —  absolutely 
forced  them  upon  us  —  wouldn't  take  *  no.'  And 
indeed,  why  should  we  refuse?  We  have  come  to 
offer  you  rivers  of  champagne,  cigars  of  abnormal 
length,  and  the  lips  of  the  fairest  houris  in  London. 
In  other  words,  Sir  Frederick  Houstley,  steel  mag- 
nate of  Sheffield,  is  giving  a  supper  party  to  the 
world,  and  our  instructions  are  to  convey  you  there 
by  force  or  persuasion,  drunk  or  sober,  sleepy  or 
wide  awake." 

"  I  accept  your  cordial  invitation,"  Wingate  said, 
mixing  himself  a  whisky  and  soda.  "  At  what  time 
does  the  fight  commence?  " 

"  Forthwith,"  Kendrick  announced.  "  We  sally 
forth  from  here  to  the  Arcadian  Rooms,  situated  in 
this  building.  Afterwards  we  make  merry.  John, 
my  boy,"  he  went  on,  "  you  have  the  air  of  a  man 
who  has  drunk  deep  already  to-night  of  the  waters 
of  happiness.  Exactly  where  did  you  dine?  " 

"  In  Utopia,"  Wingate  answered.  "According  to 
you,  I  am  to  sup  in  fairyland." 

"  But    breakfast,"    the    Honourable    Jimmy    put 


8o  THE  PROFITEERS 

in, — "  a  man  ought  to  be  dashed  careful  where  he 
breakfasts.  A  man  is  known  by  his  breakfast  com- 
panions, what?  " 

"  Young  fellow,"  Wingate  asked,  "  where  is 
Sarah?" 

"  Have  no  fear,"  was  the  blissful  reply.  "  Sarah 
is  coming  to  the  supper.  She's  filling  her  old  'bus 
up  with  peaches  from  the  Gaiety.  Not  being  al- 
lowed to  sit  inside  with  any  of  them,  I  was  sent  on 
ahead." 

"  You  dog !  "  Maurice  White  exclaimed. 

"  Dog  yourself,"  was  the  prompt  retort.  "  Op- 
portunity is  a  fine  thing.  Sometimes  I  have  a 
gruesome  fear  that  Sarah  does  not  altogether  trust 
me." 

Kendrick,  who  had  been  straightening  his  tie  be- 
fore the  glass,  now  swung  around. 

"This  way  to  the  lift,  boys,"  he  said.  "Time 
we  put  in  an  appearance." 

The  reception  room  of  the  Arcadian  suite  was 
already  fairly  well  crowded.  Wingate  shook  hands 
with  his  host,  a  cheery,  theatrical-loving  soul,  and 
was  presented  to  many  other  people.  Where  he 
was  not  introduced  he  found  a  pleasing  absence  of 
formality,  which  facilitated  conversation  and  rap- 
idly widened  his  circle  of  acquaintances.  Kendrick 
came  over  and  slapped  him  on  the  back. 


THE  PROFITEERS  81 

"  Wingate,  my  lad,"  he  exclaimed,  "  you're  go- 
ing some!  You're  the  bright  boy  of  the  party. 
Whom  are  you  taking  into  supper?  " 

"  Me ! "  said  a  rather  shrill  but  not  unmusical 
voice  from  Wingate's  side.  "  Introduce  us,  please, 
Mr.  Kendrick.  We  have  been  making  furtive  con- 
versation for  the  last  five  minutes." 

"  It  is  a  great  occasion,"  Kendrick  declared.  "  I 
present  Mr.  John  Wingate,  America's  greatest 
financier,  most  successful  soldier,  and  absolutely  in- 
evitable President,  to  Miss  Flossie  Lane,  England's 
greatest  musical  comedy  artist." 

Miss  Lane  grabbed  Wingate's  arm. 

"  Let's  go  in  to  supper,"  she  suggested.  "  All 
the  best  places  will  be  taken  if  we  don't  hurry." 

"  One  word,"  Kendrick  begged,  relapsing  for  a 
moment  into  his  ordinary  manner  as  he  touched 
Wingate  on  the  shoulder.  "  Dredlinton  is  here, 
rather  drunk  and  very  quarrelsome.  I  heard  him 
telling  some  one  about  having  found  you  dining 
alone  with  his  wife  to-night.  Phipps  was  listening. 
Look  at  him,  as  black  as  a  thundercloud!  Keep 
your  head  if  Dredlinton  gets  troublesome." 

Wingate  nodded  and  was  promptly  led  away. 
They  found  places  about  half-way  down  the  great 
horseshoe  table,  laden  with  flowers  and  every  sort  of 
cold  delicacy.  There  were  champagne  bottles  at 


82  THE  PROFITEERS 

every  other  place,  a  small  crowd  of  waiters,  eager  to 
justify  their  existence, —  a  rollicking,  Bohemian 
crowd,  the  jeunesse  doree  of  London,  and  all  the 
talent  and  beauty  of  the  musical  comedy  stage.  It 
was  a  side  of  life  with  which  Wingate  was  somewhat 
unfamiliar.  Nevertheless,  his  feet  that  night  were 
resting  upon  the  clouds.  Any  form  of  life  was 
sweet  to  him.  The  new  joy  in  his  heart  warmed  his 
pulses,  lightened  his  tongue,  unlocked  a  new  genial- 
ity. He  was  disposed  to  talk  with  everybody. 
The  young  lady  by  his  side,  however,  had  other 
views. 

"  Do  you  like  our  show,  Mr.  Wingate? "  she 
asked.  "  Or  perhaps  you  don't  go  to  musical 
comedies  ?  I  am  in  *  Lady  Diana,'  you  know." 

"  One  of  the  very  first  things  I  am  going  to  see," 
Wingate  replied,  "  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  only 
arrived  from  America  a  few  days  ago.  I  hear  that 
you  are  a  great  success." 

It  took  the  young  lady  very  nearly  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  to  explain  how  greatly  the  play  might  be 
improved  and  strengthened  by  the  allotment  to  her 
of  a  few  more  songs  and  another  dance,  and  she  also 
recounted  the  argument  she  had  had  with  the  stage 
manager  as  to  her  absence  from  the  stage  during 
the  greater  part  of  Act  Two. 

"  I  am  not  vain,"  she  concluded,  with  engaging 


THE  PROFITEERS  83 

frankness,  "  but  on  the  other  hand  I  am  not  foolish, 
and  I  know  quite  well  that  many  people  —  a  great 
part  of  the  audience,  in  fact  —  come  because  they 
see  my  name  upon  the  boards,  and  I  have  number- 
less complaints  because  I  am  only  on  for  such  a  short 
time  in  what  should  be  the  most  important  act  of 
the  play.  I  tell  them  it's  nothing1  to  do  with  me, 
but  as  long  as  my  name  is  displayed  outside  the 
theatre  and  I  know  how  they  feel  about  it,  I  feel  a 
certain  responsibility.  Now  you  are  a  very  clever 
man,  and  a  man  of  the  world,  Mr.  Wingate.  What 
do  you  think  about  it?  " 

"  I  think  that  you  are  quite  right,"  he  declared, 
with  satisfactory  emphasis. 

"  You  don't  know  Mr.  Maken,  our  manager,  I 
suppose?  "  she  enquired. 

Wingate  shook  his  head. 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  he  confessed,  "  I  know 
very  few  theatrical  people." 

"  What  a  pity  you're  not  fond  of  the  stage !  "  she 
sighed,  with  a  world  of  regret  in  her  very  blue  eyes. 
"  You  might  have  a  theatre  of  your  own,  and  a 
leading  lady,  and  all  the  rest  of  it." 

"  It  sounds  rather  fascinating,"  he  admitted, 
"  under  certain  circumstances.  All  the  same,  I 
don't  think  I  should  like  to  make  a  business  of  what 
is  such  a  great  pleasure." 


84  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  thought,  with  American  men,"  she  said  archly, 
"  that  their  business  was  their  pleasure." 

"  To  a  certain  extent,  I  suppose,"  he  admitted, 
"  but  then,  you  see,  I  am  half  English.  My  mother 
was  English  although  she  was  married  in  America, 
and  I  was  born  there." 

"  How  did  you  manage  about  serving?  "  she  en- 
quired. 

"  I  gave  both  a  turn,"  he  explained.  "  I  turned 
out  for  England  first  and  then  for  America." 

"  How  splendid  of  you ! "  she  murmured,  raising 
her  fine  eyes  admiringly  and  then  dropping  them  in 
a  most  effective  manner.  "  But  wasn't  it  a  shocking 
waste  of  time  and  lives !  Just  fancy,  in  all  those 
years,  how  many  undeveloped  geniuses  must  have 
been  killed  without  ever  having  had  their  chance! 
How  miserably  upside  down  the  whole  world  was, 
too !  Four  years  and  more  during  which  a  supper 
party,  except  at  a  private  house,  was  an  impossi- 
bility ! " 

"  I  suppose,"  Wingate  admitted,  a  little  stag- 
gered, "  that  taken  from  that  point  of  view  the  war 
was  an  unfortunate  infliction." 

"  And  after  all,"  the  young  lady  went  on,  "  here 
we  are  at  the  end  of  it  very  much  as  though  it  had 
never  happened.  Do  you  think  they  will  be  able  to 
stop  wars  in  the  future  ?  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  85 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  confessed.  "  I  suppose  in- 
ternational differences  must  be  settled  somehow  or 
other.  Personally,  I  think  a  wrestling  match,  or 
.something  of  that  sort " 

"  Now  you're  making  fun  of  me,"  she  interrupted 
reproachfully.  "  I  see  you  don't  want  to  talk  about 
serious  things.  Do  you  admire  Miss  Orford?"  she 
asked,  indicating  another  musical  comedy  lady  who 
was  seated  opposite,  and  who  had  shown  occasional 
signs  of  a  desire  to  join  in  the  conversation. 

Wingate  took  his  cue  from  his  questioner's  tone 
and  glance. 

"  A  little  too  thin,"  he  hazarded. 

"  Molly  is  almost  painfully  thin,"  his  companion 
conceded,  with  apparent  reluctance,  "  and  I  tlrink 
she  makes  up  far  more  than  she  need." 

"  Bad  for  the  complexion  in  time,  I  suppose,"  he 
observed. 

"  I  don't  know.  Molly's  been  doing  it  for  a  great 
many  years.  She  understudies  me,  you  know,  at 
the  theatre.  Would  you  like  me  to  send  you  word  if 
ever  I'm  unable  to  play?  " 

"  Quite  unnecessary,"  he  replied,  with  the  proper 
amount  of  warmth.  "  I  should  be  far  too  broken- 
hearted to  attend  if  you  were  not  there.  Besides, 
is  Miss  Orford  clever?  " 

"  Don't  ask  me,"  her  friend  sighed.     "  She  doesn't 


86  THE  PROFITEERS 

even  do  me  the  compliment  of  imitating  me.  Tell 
me,  don't  you  love  supping  here?  " 

"  Under  present  circumstances,"  he  agreed. 

"  I  love  it,  too,"  she  murmured,  with  an  answer- 
ing flash  of  the  eyes.  "  I  am  not  sure,"  she  went  on, 
"  that  I  care  about  these  large  parties,  although  I 
always  like  to  come  when  Sir  Frederick  asks  me.  He 
is  such  a  dear,  isn't  he  ?  " 

"  He  is  a  capital  host,"  Wingate  assented. 

"  I  am  so  fond  of  really  interesting  conversation," 
the  young  lady  further  confided.  "  I  love  to  have 
a  man  who  really  amounts  to  something  tell  me  about 
his  life  and  work." 

"Mr.  Peter  Phipps,  for  instance?"  he  suggested. 
"  Didn't  I  see  you  lunching  here  with  him  the  other 
day?" 

She  looked  across  the  table,  towards  where  Phipps 
was  sitting  hand  in  hand  with  a  young  lady  in  blue, 
and  apparently  being  very  entertaining.  Miss 
Flossie  caught  a  glimpse  of  Wingate's  expression. 

"You  don't  like  Mr.  Phipps,"  she  said.  "You 
don't  think  I  ought  to  lunch  with  him." 

"  I  shouldn't  if  I  were  a  young  lady  like  you, 
whose  choice  must  be  unlimited,"  Wingate  replied. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  it  is  unlimited  ? "  she 
demanded.  "  Perhaps  just  the  people  whom  I 
would  like  to  lunch  with  don't  ask  me." 


THE  PROFITEERS  87 

"  They  need  encouragement,"  he  suggested. 
She  laughed  into  his  eyes. 

"  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  men  who  need 
encouragement?"  she  asked  demurely. 

He  avoided  the  point  and  made  some  casual  re- 
mark about  the  changes  in  London  during  the  last 
few  years.  She  sighed  sorrowfully. 

"  It  has  changed  for  no  one  so  much  as  me,"  she 
murmured.  "  The  war " 

"  You  lost  friends,  I  suppose?  "  he  ventured. 

She  closed  her  eyes. 

"  Don't !  "  she  whispered.  "  I  never  speak  of  it," 
she  went  on,  twisting  a  ring  around  her  fingers  nerv- 
ously, "  I  don't  like  it  mentioned,  but  I  was  really 
engaged  to  young  Lord  Fanleighton." 

He  murmured  a  little  word  of  sympathy,  and 
their  conversation  was  momentarily  interrupted  as 
she  leaned  forward  to  answer  an  enquiry  from  her 
host.  Wingate  turned  to  Sarah,  who  was  seated  at 
his  other  side. 

"  How  dare  you  neglect  me  so  shamefully !  "  she 
asked. 

"  Let  me  make  amends,"  he  pleaded. 

"  I  am  glad  you  feel  penitent,  at  any  rate.  I  ex- 
pect Miss  Flossie  Lane  has  asked  you  what  you 
think  of  her  friend,  Miss  Orford,  and  told  you  that 
she  was  engaged  to  Lord  Fanleighton." 


88  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  What  a  hearing !  "  he  murmured. 

"  Don't  be  silly,"  she  replied.  "  I  couldn't  hear  a 
word,  but  I  know  her  stock  in  trade." 

There  was  a  little  stir  at  the  farther  end  of  the 
table.  Lord  Dredlinton  had  left  his  place  and  was 
standing  behind  Phipps,  with  his  hands  upon  his 
shoulders.  He  seemed  to  be  shouting  something  in 
his  ear.  At  that  moment  he  recognised  Wingate. 
He  staggered  up  the  farther  side  of  the  table  to- 
wards him,  butting  into  a  waiter  on  the  way  and 
pausing  for  a  moment  to  curse  him.  Flossie  jogged 
Wingate's  elbow. 

"  What  fun ! "  she  whispered.  "  Here's  Lord 
Dredlinton,  absolutely  blotto !  " 


CHAPTER  IX 

Wingate  from  the  first  had  a  prescience  of  dis- 
agreeable things.  There  was  malice  in  Dredlinton's 
pallid  face,  the  ugly  twist  of  his  lips  and  the  light  in 
his  bloodshot  eyes.  He  paused  opposite  to  them, 
and  leaning  his  hands  on  the  back  of  the  nearest 
chair,  spoke  across  the  table. 

"  Hullo,  Flossie ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  How  are 
you,  old  dear?  How  are  you,  Wingate?  " 

Wingate  replied  with  cold  civility,  Flossie  with  a 
careless  nod. 

"  I  do  hope,"  she  whispered  to  her  companion, 
glancing  into  the  mirror  which  she  had  just  drawn 
from  her  bag,  "  that  Lord  Dredlinton  isn't  going  to 
be  foolish.  He  does  embarrass  me  so  sometimes." 

"  I  say,"  Dredlinton  went  on,  "  what  are  you  do- 
ing here,  Wingate  ?  I  didn't  know  this  sort  of  thing 
was  in  your  line." 

Wingate  raised  his  eyebrows  but  made  no  re- 
sponse. Dredlinton  shook  his  head  reproachfully 
at  Miss  Lane. 

"  Flossie,"    he    continued,    "  you   ought    to    know 


go  THE  PROFITEERS 

better.  Besides,  you  will  waste  your  time.  Mr. 
Wingate's  taste  in  women  is  of  a  very  —  superior 
order.  Doesn't  care  about  your  sort  at  all.  He 
likes  saints.  That's  right,  isn't  it,  Wingate  ?  " 

"  You  seem  to  know,"  was  the  cool  reply. 

"  Not  't  tall  sure,"  Dredlinton  went  on,  balancing 
himself  with  difficulty,  "  that  your  new  conquest 
would  altogether  approve  of  this,  you  know,  Win- 
gate.  Let  me  tell  you  that  Flossie  is  a  very  danger- 
ous young  lady  —  destroys  the  peace  of  every- 
body —  can't  sleep  myself  for  thinking  of  her.  Not 
your  sort  at  all,  Wingate.  We  know  your  sort, 
don't  we,  eh?" 

Wingate  remained  contemptuously  silent.  Ken- 
drick  rose  from  his  place  and  laid  his  hand  on  Dred- 
linton's  shoulder. 

"  Come  and  sit  down,  Dredlinton,"  he  said  shortly. 
"  You're  making  an  idiot  of  yourself." 

"  Go  to  hell ! "  the  other  replied  truculently. 
"  Who  are  you?  Just  that  man's  broker,  that's  all. 
Want  to  sell  wheat,  Wingate,  or  buy  it,  eh?  " 

Wingate  looked  at  him  steadily. 

"  You're  drunk,"  he  said.  "  I  should  advise  you 
to  get  a  friend  to  take  you  home." 

"  Drunk,  am  I?  "  Dredlinton  shouted.  "  What  if 
I  am?  I'm  a  better  man  drunk  than  you  are 
sober  —  although  she  may  not  think  so,  eh?" 


THE  PROFITEERS  91 

Wingate  looked  at  him  from  underneath  level 
brows. 

"  I  should  advise  you  not  to  mention  any  names 
here,"  he  said. 

"  I  like  that !  "  the  other  scoffed.  "  Not  to  men- 
tion any  names,  eh?  He'll  forbid  me  next  to  talk 
about  my  own  wife." 

"  You'd  be  a  cur  if  you  did,"  Wingate  told  him. 

A  little  spot  of  colour  burned  in  Dredlinton's 
cheeks.  For  a  moment  he  showed  his  teeth.  But 
for  Kendrick's  restraining  arm,  he  seemed  as  though 
he  would  have  thrown  himself  across  the  table. 
Then,  with  a  great  effort,  he  regained  command  of 
himself. 

"  So  you  won't  sell  wheat  and  you  won't  buy 
wheat,  Mr.  American !  "  he  jeered.  "  I  know  what 
you  would  like  to  buy,  though  —  and,  damn  it  all, 
there's  old  Dreadnought  Phipps  down  there  —  he's 
a  bidder,  too  —  ain't  you,  Phipps,  old  boy?  What 
you  see  in  her,  either  of  you,  I  don't  know!  She's 
no  use  to  me." 

Phipps  rose  in  his  place.  Sir  Frederick  Houstley 
left  his  chair  and  came  round  to  Dredlinton. 

"  Lord  Dredlinton,"  he  said,  "  I  think  you  had 
better  leave." 

"  I'll  leave  when  I  damned  well  please !  "  was  the 
quick  reply.  "  Don't  you  lose  your  wool,  old 


92  THE  PROFITEERS 

Freddy.  This  is  going  to  be  a  joke.  You  listen. 
I  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  I'm  a  poor  man  —  devilish 
poor  —  and  it  takes  a  lot  of  money  to  enjoy  oneself, 
nowadays.  You're  all  in  this.  Sit  tight  and  listen. 
We'll  have  an  auction." 

Wingate  rose  slowly  to  his  feet,  pushed  his  chair 
back  and  stood  behind  it.  Flossie  gripped  him  by 
the  wrist. 

"  Don't  take  any  notice  of  him,  please,  Mr.  Win- 
gate,"  she  implored,  in  an  agonised  whisper.  "For 
my  sake,  don't !  He's  dangerous  when  he's  like  this. 
I  couldn't  bear  it  if  anything  happened  to  you." 

"  Look  here,  Dredlinton,"  Sir  Frederick  expostu- 
lated, "  you  are  spoiling  my  party.  You  don't  want 
to  quarrel  with  me,  do  you?  " 

"  Quarrel  with  you,  Freddy?  "  Dredlinton  replied, 
patting  him  on  the  back  affectionately.  "  Not  I ! 
I'm  too  fond  of  you,  old  dear.  You  give  too  nice 
parties.  Always  the  right  sort  of  people  —  except 
for  that  bounder  over  there,"  he  went  on,  nodding 
his  head  towards  Wingate. 

"  Then  sit  down  and  don't  make  an  ass  of  your- 
self," his  host  begged.  "  You're  spoiling  every 
one's  enjoyment,  making  a  disturbance  like  this." 

"Spoiling  their  enjoyment  be  hanged!"  Dredlin- 
ton scoffed.  "  Tell  you  what,  I'm  going  to  make 
the  party  go.  I'm  going  to  have  a  bit  of  fun. 


THE  PROFITEERS  93 

What  about  an  auction,  eh?  —  an  auction  with  two 
bidders  only  —  both  millionaires  —  one's  a  pal  and 
the  other  isn't.  Both  want  the  same  thing  —  hap- 
pens to  be  mine.  Damn!  I  never  thought  it  was 
worth  anything,  but  here  goes.  What'll  you  bid, 
Phipps?" 

Phipps  apprised  the  situation  and  decided  upon 
his  role.  He  had  a  very  correct  intuition  as  to 
what  was  likely  to  happen. 

"  Sit  down  and  don't  be  an  ass,  Dredlinton,"  he 
laughed.  "  Don't  take  the  fellow  seriously,"  he 
went  on,  speaking  generally.  "  He's  all  right  as 
long  as  you  let  him  alone.  You're  all  right,  aren't 
you,  Dredlinton  ?  " 

"  Right  as  rain,"  was  the  confident  reply.  "  But 
let's  hear  your  bid,  if  you're  going  to  make  one." 

"  Bid?  You've  got  nothing  to  sell,"  Phipps  de- 
clared good  humouredly,  with  a  covert  glance  to- 
wards Wingate.  "  What  are  you  getting  rid  of,  eh? 
Your  household  goods?  " 

"  Come  on,  Phipps,"  Dredlinton  persisted. 
"  You're  not  going  to  fade  away  like  that.  You've 
given  me  the  straight  tip.  You  were  the  only  man 
in  the  running.  Clear  course.  No  jealousy.  Up 
to  you  to  step  in  and  win.  You've  got  a  rival,  I  tell 
you.  You'll  have  to  bid  or  lose  her.  Open  your 
mouth  wide,  man.  Start  it  with  ten  thou." 


94  THE  PROFITEERS 

"Sit  down,  you  blithering  jackass!"  Phipps 
roared.  "  Give  him  a  drink,  some  one,  and  keep 
him  quiet." 

"  Don't  want  a  drink,"  Dredlinton  replied,  shak- 
ing himself  free  from  Kendrick's  grasp.  "  Want  to 
keep  my  head  clear.  Big  deal,  this.  May  reestab- 
lish the  fortunes  of  a  fallen  family.  Gad,  it's  a 
night  for  all  you  outsiders  to  remember,  this !  "  he 
went  on,  glancing  insolently  around  the  table. 
"  Don't  often  have  the  chance  of  seeing  a  nobleman 
selling  his  household  treasures.  Come  on,  Wingate. 
Phipps  is  shy  about  starting.  Let's  have  your  bid. 
What  about  ten  thou,  eh?  " 

Wingate  came  slowly  around  the  table.  His  eyes 
never  left  Dredlinton.  Dredlinton,  too,  watched  him 
like  a  cat,  watched  him  drawing  nearer  and  nearer. 

"  What,  do  you  want  to  whisper  your  bid  ?  "  he 
jeered.  "  Out  with  it  like  a  man!  This  is  a  unique 
opportunity.  Heaven  knows  when  you  may  get  the 
chance  again !  Shall  we  say  twenty  thou,  Wingate  ? 
A  peeress  and  a  saint!  Gad,  they  aren't  to  be 
picked  up  every  day !  " 

"  What  on  earth  is  he  trying  to  sell  ?  "  Flossie 
demanded. 

Dredlinton  turned  with  an  evil  grin.  He  had  at 
least  the  courage  of  a  drunken  man,  for  he  took  no 
account  of  Wingate  towering  over  him. 


THE  PROFITEERS  95 

"Don't  you  know?"  he  cried  out.  "Doesn't 
every  one  understand?  " 

"  Stop !  "  Wingate  ordered. 

"And  why  the  hell  should  I  stop  for  you?" 
Dredlinton  shouted.  "  If  Flossie  wants  to  know, 
here's  the  truth.  It's  the  least  cherished  of  all  my 
household  goods.  It's  my  wife." 

Of  what  happened  during  the  next  few  seconds, 
or  rather  of  the  manner  of  its  happening,  few  peo- 
ple were  able  to  render  a  coherent  account.  All 
that  they  remembered  was  a  most  amazing  spec- 
tacle,—  the  spectacle  of  Wingate  walking  quietly 
to  the  door  with  Dredlinton  in  his  arms,  kicking  and 
shouting  smothered  profanities,  but  absolutely 
powerless  to  free  himself.  The  door  was  opened  by 
a  waiter,  and  Wingate  passed  into  the  corridor.  A 
maitre  d'hotel,  with  presence  of  mind,  hurried  up 
to  him. 

"  Have  you  an  empty  room  with  a  key?  "  Win- 
gate  asked. 

The  man  led  the  way  and  pushed  open  the  door 
of  a  small  apartment  used  on  bucy  occasions  for  a 
service  room.  Wingate  thrust  in  his  struggling 
burden  and  locked  the  door. 

"  Strong  panels? "  he  enquired,  pausing  for  a 
moment  to  listen  to  the  blows  directed  upon  them. 

The  head  waiter  smiled. 


g6  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  They're  more  than  one  man  can  break  through, 
sir,"  he  assured  him. 

Wingate  made  his  way  back  to  the  supper  party. 
Half  of  the  guests  were  on  their  feet.  He  met  Sir 
Frederick  near  the  door. 

"  Sorry,  Sir  Frederick,  if  I  am  in  any  way  re- 
sponsible for  this  little  disturbance,"  he  said,  as  he 
made  his  way  towards  his  place.  "  I  think  if  I  were 
you,  I  should  give  this  key  to  one  of  the  commis- 
sionaires a  little  later  on.  Lord  Dredlinton  is  quite 
safe  for  the  present." 

Sir  Frederick  patted  him  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Most  unprovoked  attack,"  he  declared.  "  De- 
lighted to  have  made  your  acquaintance,  Mr. 
Wingate.  You  treated  him  exactly  as  he  de- 
served." 

Wingate  resumed  his  place  and  held  out  his  glass 
to  the  waiter.  Then  he  raised  it  to  his  lips.  The 
glass  was  full  to  the  brim  but  his  fingers  were  per- 
fectly steady.  He  looked  down  the  table  towards 
Phipps,  whose  expression  was  noncommittal,  and 
gently  disemburdened  himself  of  Flossie's  arm,  which 
had  stolen  through  his. 

"  I  think  you  are  the  most  wonderful  man  I  ever 
met,"  she  confided. 

"  You're  a  brick,"  Sarah  whispered  in  his  ear. 
"  Come  and  see  me  off  the  premises,  there's  a  dear. 


THE  PROFITEERS  97 

Jimmy  won't  be  ready  for  hours  yet  and  I  want  to 
get  home." 

Wingate  rose  at  once,  made  his  adieux  and  ac- 
companied Sarah  to  the  door,  followed  by  a  re- 
proachful glance  from  Flossie.  The  former  took 
his  arm  and  held  it  tightly  as  they  passed  along  the 
corridor. 

"  I  think  that  you  are  the  dearest  man  J  ever 
knew,  Mr.  Wingate,"  she  said,  "  just  as  I  think  that 
Josephine  is  the  dearest  woman,  and  I  hope  more 
than  anything  in  the  world  —  well,  you  know  what  I 
hope." 

"  I  think  I  do,"  Wingate  replied.     "  Thank  you." 


CHAPTER  X 

Andrew  Slate,  a  very  personable  man  in  his  spring 
clothes  of  grey  tweed,  took  up  his  hat  and  prepared 
to  depart.  Half-past  twelve  had  just  struck  by 
Wingate's  clock,  and  the  two  men  had  been  together 
since  ten. 

"  You're  a  wonderful  person,  Wingate,"  Slate 
said,  with  a  note  of  genuine  admiration  in  his  tone. 
"  I  don't  believe  there's  another  man  breathing  who 
would  have  had  the  courage  to  plan  a  coup  like 
this." 

Wingate  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  The  men  who  dig  deep  into  life,"  he  replied,  as 
he  shook  hands,  "  are  the  men  who  take  risks.  I 
was  never  meant  to  be  one  of  those  who  scratch  about 
on  the  surface." 

A  note  was  slipped  into  his  letter  box  as  he  let 
Slate  out.  He  noticed  the  coronet  on  the  envelope 
and  opened  it  eagerly.  A  glance  at  the  signature 
brought  him  disappointment.  He  read  it  slowly, 
with  a  hard  smile  upon  his  lips : 


THE  PROFITEERS  99 

My  dear  Mr.  Wingate, 

I  am  writing  to  express  to  you  my  sincere  and 
heartfelt  regret  for  last  night's  unfortunate  inci- 
dent. I  can  do  no  more  nor  any  less  than  to  confess 
in  plain  words  that  I  was  drunk.  It  is  a  humiliating 
confession,  but  it  happens  to  be  the  truth.  Will 
you  accept  this  apology  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  is 
tendered,  and  wipe  out  the  whole  incident  from  your 
memory?  I  venture  to  hope  and  believe  that  you 
are  sportsman  enough  to  accede  to  my  request. 
Yours  regretfully, 

DREDLINTON. 

Wingate  was  conscious  of  a  feeling  of  disappoint- 
ment as  he  threw  the  note  upon  the  table.  Open 
warfare  was,  after  all,  so  much  better.  An  amende 
so  complete  left  him  with  no  alternative  save  acqui' 
escence.  Even  while  he  was  coming  to  this  some- 
what unwelcome  decision,  the  telephone  bell  rang. 
He  took  off  the  receiver  and  was  instantly  galvanised 
into  attention.  It  was  Josephine  speaking. 

"  Is  that  Mr.  Wingate  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  It  is,"  he  admitted.  "  Good  morning  —  Jo- 
sephine ! " 

"  Quite  right,"  she  answered  composedly.  "  That 
is  how  I  like  to  have  you  call  me.  I  am  speaking 
for  my  husband.  He  is  here  by  my  side  at  the  pres- 
ent moment." 

«  The  mischief  he  is !  "  Wingate  said.     "  Well?  " 

"  My  husband  has  desired  me  to  intercede  with 


ioo  THE  PROFITEERS 

you,"  Josephine  continued,  "  to  beg  your  acceptance 
of  the  apology  which  he  has  sent  you  this  morn- 
ing." 

"  No  further  word  need  be  spoken  upon  the  sub- 
ject," Wingate  replied.  "  Your  husband  has  ex- 
plained that  he  was  drunk  and  has  tendered  his 
apology.  I  accept  it." 

There  was  a  brief  pause.  Josephine  was  ob- 
viously repeating  Wingate's  decision  to  her  hus- 
band. Then  she  spoke  again. 

"  My  husband  desires  me  to  thank  you,"  she  said. 
"  He  desires  me  to  hope  that  you  will  continue  to 
visit  at  the  house,  and  that  you  will  not  allow  any- 
thing he  may  have  said  to  interfere  between  our 
friendship." 

"  Nothing  that  he  has  said  or  could  say  could  in- 
terfere with  that,"  Wingate  assured  her, — "  at  least 
that  is  my  point  of  view." 

"  And  mine !  " 

"  Shall  I  see  you  to-day?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  hope  so,"  she  answered.  "  Perhaps  after 
luncheon  — " 

There  was  a  sound  as  though  the  receiver  had 
been  taken  from  her  fingers.  Dredlinton  himself 
spoke. 

"  Look  here,  Wingate,  this  is  Dredlinton  speak- 
ing," he  said.  "  You  won't  let  this  little  affair 


THE  PROFITEERS  101 

make  any  difference  to  your  call  upon  us  on  Tues- 
day morning?  " 

"  Certainly  not,"  Wingate  replied.  "  I  was 
thinking  of  writing  you  about  that,  though.  I  don't 
see  any  object  in  my  coming.  I  think  you  had  bet- 
ter let  me  off  that  visit." 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  Dredlinton  pleaded,  "  if  you 
don't  come,  Phipps  will  think  it  is  because  of  last 
night's  affair  and  I  shall  get  it  in  the  neck.  I'm  in 
disgrace  enough  already.  Do,  for  heaven's  sake, 
oblige  me,  there's  a  good  chap." 

Wingate  hesitated  for  a  moment. 

"  Very  well,"  he  assented,  "  I  will  go.  Is  that 
all?" 

"  That's  all,  thanks." 

"  I  should  like  to  speak  to  your  wife  again,"  Win- 
gate  said. 

"  Sorry,  she's  just  gone  out,"  was  the  rather  ma- 
licious reply.  "  I'd  have  kept  her  for  you,  if  I'd 
known.  So  long !  " 

A  knocking  at  the  door,  —  a  rather  low,  suggestive 
knocking.  Wingate  knew  that  it  was  an  impossibil- 
ity, but  he  nevertheless  hastened  to  throw  it  open. 
Miss  Flossie  Lane  stood  there,  very  becomingly 
dressed  in  a  tailor-made  costume  of  covert  coating. 
She  wore  a  hat  with  yellow  buttercups,  and  she  had 
shown  a  certain  reticence  as  regards  cosmetics  which 


102  THE  PROFITEERS 

amounted  to  a  tacit  acknowledgment  of  his  preju- 
dices. 

"  Miss  Lane !  "  he  exclaimed. 

She  looked  at  him  with  wide-open  eyes. 

"  But  you  were  expecting  me,  weren't  you  ?  "  she 
asked.  "  I  remembered  your  inviting  me  quite  well, 
but  I  couldn't  remember  where  you  said,  so  I  thought 
I'd  better  come  and  fetch  you.  I  haven't  done 
wrong,  have  I?  " 

"  Most  certainly  not,"  Wingate  replied.  "  Come 
in,  please.  I'll  ring  for  a  cocktail  and  send  the  man 
down  into  the  restaurant  to  engage  a  table." 

She  sank  into  an  easy-chair  and  looked  around 
her,  while  Wingate  did  as  he  had  suggested.  The 
sitting  room,  filled  with  trophies  of  curiously  mixed 
characteristics  —  a  Chinese  idol  squatting  in  one 
corner,  some  West  African  weapons  above  it,  two 
very  fine  moose  heads  over  a  quaintly  shaped  fire- 
place, and  a  row  of  choice  Japanese  prints  over  the 
bookcase  —  was  a  very  masculine  but  eminently  hab- 
itable apartment.  Miss  Lane  looked  around  her  and 
approved. 

"  This  is  quite  the  nicest  flat  in  the  Court,"  she 
declared,  "  and  I've  been  in  so  many  of  them.  How 
did  you  find  time  to  furnish  it  like  this?  I  thought 
that  you'd  only  just  arrived  from  America." 

"  I  come  to  London  often  enough  to  keep  this  little 


THE  PROFITEERS  103 

suite  here,"  he  explained.  "  I  had  it  even  through 
the  war.  Sometimes  I  lend  it  to  a  friend.  I  am  one 
of  those  domestic  people,"  he  added  with  a  smile, 
"  who  like  to  have  a  home  of  some  sort  to  come  to 
at  the  end  of  a  journey." 

"  You're  much  too  nice  to  live  alone,"  she  ven- 
tured. 

"  Well,  you  see,  your  sex  has  decreed  that  I  shall 
up  to  the  present,"  he  remarked.  "  Here  come  the 
cocktails.  I  hope  that  yours  won't  be  too  dry. 
Where  will  you  lunch  —  the  restaurant  or  the  grill- 
room? " 

"  The  grillroom,"  she  decided,  after  a  moment's 
reflection.  "  We  can  go  and  sit  out  in  the  foyer  aft- 
erwards and  have  our  coffee." 

The  cocktails  and  Wingate's  choice  of  a  table 
were  alike  approved.  Wingate  himself,  as  soon  as 
he  had  recovered  from  the  bland  assurance  with 
which  his  guest  had  manufactured  her  invitation,  de- 
voted himself  with  a  somewhat  hard  light  in  his  eyes 
to  the  task  of  entertaining  her.  The  whole  gamut 
of  her  attractions  was  let  loose  for  his  benefit.  He 
represented  to  her  the  one  desirable  thing,  difficult 
of  attainment,  perhaps,  but  worth  the  effort.  Soft 
glances  and  words  hinting  at  tenderness,  sighs  and 
half-spoken  appeals  were  all  made  to  serve  their  ob- 
vious purpose.  If  Wingate's  responses  were  a  little 


io4  THE  PROFITEERS 

artificial,  he  still  made  no  attempt  to  hurry  through 
the  meal.  He  seemed  perfectly  content  to  consider 
the  attractions  which  his  companion  heaped  into  the 
shop  window  of  her  being.  Once  she  almost  amused 
him,  and  he  found  himself  for  a  few  seconds  con- 
templating her  with  some  glimmering-  of  the  thought 
which  she  was  so  anxious  to  instil  into  his  brain. 
After  all,  a  companion  like  this  was  soothing,  made 
no  demands,  filled  a  pleasant  enough  place  in  the 
broken  ways  of  life,  provided  one  had  no  other  as- 
pirations. And  then  the  thought  passed  from  him, 
—  forever. 

They  took  their  coffee  and  liqueurs  in  the  foyer. 
Flossie,  perfectly  satisfied  with  her  companion  and 
her  progress  with  him,  chattered  gaily  away  with 
scarcely  a  pause,  and  Wingate,  after  his  first  re- 
sentment at  her  coming  had  passed,  found  a  certain 
relief  in  sitting  and  listening  to  her  equable  flow  of 
nonsense.  By  and  by,  however,  she  came  very  near 
annoying  him. 

"  You  know  Lady  Dredlinton  very  well,  don't  you, 
Mr.  Wingate  ?  "  she  asked,  a  little  abruptly. 

His  answer  was  marked  with  a  warning  note  of 
stiffness. 

"  Lady  Dredlinton,"  he  repeated.  "  I  know  her, 
certainly.  I  was  at  her  hospital  at  Staples." 

"  Every  one  says  that  she  is  charming,"  the  young 


THE  PROFITEERS  105 

lady  continued,  with  a  side  glance  at  him.  "  Pity 
she  can't  keep  that  wicked  husband  of  hers  a  little 
more  under  control.  You  know,  Mr.  Wingate,"  she 
confided,  "  he  has  asked  me  to  supper  four  or  five 
times  but  I  have  never  cared  about  going  with  him 
quite  alone.  A  girl  has  to  be  so  careful  in  my  posi- 
tion. Don't  you  agree  with  me?" 

"  I  suppose  so,"  he  answered  indifferently. 

"  Dear  old  '  Dredful,'  as  Lord  Fanleighton  used 
to  call  him,  can  be  very  amusing  sometimes,  but  he 
hasn't  the  best  reputation,  and  of  course  he's  ter- 
rible when  he's  drunk,  as  he  was  last  night.  I  do 
so  like  nice  men,"  she  sighed,  "  and  there  are  scarcely 
any  left.  One  seems  to  have  lost  all  one's  friends 
in  the  war,"  she  went  on  reminiscently,  her  large 
blue  eyes  veiled  with  sadness.  "  It  makes  one  feel 
very  lonely  sometimes." 

Wingate  scarcely  heard  her.  His  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  the  two  men  walking  up  the  carpeted  way  from 
the  restaurant.  One  was  Peter  Phipps,  the  other 
Lord  Dredlinton.  Flossie  Lane,  seeking  to  discover 
the  cause  of  her  companion's  abstraction,  glanced  in 
the  same  direction  and  recognised  them  at  once. 

"  Why  here  is  Lord  Dredlinton ! "  she  exclaimed* 
"  And  Mr.  Peter  Phipps !  He  is  rather  a  dear  per- 
son, Mr.  Phipps,  you  know,  although  you  don't  like 
him." 


io6  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Is  he  !  "  Wingate  observed  grimly. 

"  They  are  coming  to  speak  to  us,"  the  young  lady 
went  on,  shaking  her  skirts  a  little  and  glancing  into 
the  mirror  which  she  had  just  drawn  from  her  bag. 
"What  a  bother!" 

Lord  Dredlinton,  more  dignified  than  usual  but  if 
possible  still  more  unpleasant,  threaded  his  way  be- 
tween the  chairs  and  paused  before  the  two,  fol- 
lowed, a  few  spaces  behind,  by  Phipps. 

"  Hullo,  Flossie !  "  the  former  exclaimed.  "  How 
are  you,  Wingate?  You  got  my  letter?  " 

"  I  received  your  letter  and  also  your  telephone 
message,"  Wingate  replied  stiffly.  "  So  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  the  matter,  as  I  told  you,  is  at  an  end." 

"That's  all  right,  then.  —  Flossie,"  Dredlinton 
continued,  looking  reproachfully  at  the  young 
woman  whose  hand  he  was  still  holding,  "  I  told  you 
last  night  that  you  ought  to  know  better.  You 
should  confine  your  attentions  to  the  black  sheep 
of  the  world,  like  me.  Dear  me !  "  he  went  on,  stand- 
ing a  little  on  one  side  so  as  not  to  conceal  Wingate. 
"  My  wife,  apparently,  has  been  lunching  here. 
Wingate,  shall  we  form  a  screen  in  front  of  you, 
or  are  you  content  to  be  toppled  from  your  ped- 
estal? " 

Wingate  met  the  ill-natured  sneer  indifferently. 
He  even  smiled  as  Phipps,  standing  on  the  outside 


THE  PROFITEERS  107 

of  the  little  circle,  also  altered  his  position.  It  was 
clearly  the  intention  of  both  that  Josephine  should 
realise  the  situation.  Attracted  by  a  gesture  from 
her  husband,  she  glanced  across  at  them.  For  a 
single  moment  she  half  hesitated.  There  was  a  queer 
look  in  her  eyes,  a  look  of  surprise  mingled  even  with 
pain.  Then  she  flashed  a  brilliant  smile  upon  Win- 
gate,  ignored  her  husband  and  Phipps,  and  passed 
on. 

"  Cut ! "  Lord  Dredlinton  exclaimed,  with  mock 
dismay.  "  Cut,  my  friend  Phipps !  Me,  her  hus- 
band, and  you,  her  dear  friend !  Really,  it's  a  most 
uncomfortable  thing  to  have  a  disapproving  wife 
going  about  to  the  same  restaurants  and  places.  Let 
us  go  and  sulk  in  a  corner,  Phipps,  and  leave  this 
little  comedy  here  to  develop.  Farewell,  faithless 
Flossie !  Wingate,"  he  concluded,  shaking  his  head 
gravely,  "  you  have  disappointed  me." 

They  passed  on.  The  young  lady  tossed  her  head 
angrily. 

"  There  are  times,"  she  announced,  "  when  I  hate 
Lord  Dredlinton.  I  don't  know  any  one  who  can 
say  such  horrid  things  without  being  actually  rude. 
I'm  sure  his  wife  looks  much  too  good  for  him,"  she 
added  generously. 

Wingate's  nerves  were  all  on  edge.  He  glanced  at 
his  watch  and  rose  regretfully  to  his  feet. 


io8  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  am  afraid,"  he  said,  as  he  led  the  way  towards 
the  exit,  "  that  I  must  go  back  to  work.  Thank 
you  so  much  for  coming  and  taking  pity  upon  a 
lonely  man,  Miss  Lane." 

"  You  can  have  all  that  sort  of  pity  you  like," 
she  whispered. 

"  Then  I  shall  certainly  make  demands  upon  it," 
he  assured  her,  as  they  parted  at  the  door. 

He  found  himself  presently  back  in  the  cool  and 
pleasantly  austere  surroundings  of  his  sitting  room 
and  threw  himself  into  an  easy-chair  drawn  up  in 
front  of  the  wide-flung  windows.  A  strong  breeze, 
against  which  a  flight  of  seagulls  leaned,  was  stirring 
the  trees  in  the  Embankment  Gardens  and  ruffling 
the  surface  of  the  water.  The  pall  of  smoke  east- 
ward seemed  here  and  there  cloven  by  a  wind-swept 
avenue  of  clearer  spaces.  He  felt  a  sudden  and  pas- 
sionate distaste  for  his  recent  environment, —  the 
faint  perfume  which  had  crept  out  from  the  girl's 
hair  and  face  as  she  had  leaned  towards  him,  the 
brushing  of  her  clothes  against  his,  the  daring  ex- 
posure of  silk  stocking,  the  continual  flirtatious  ap- 
peal of  her  eyes  and  lips.  He  felt  himself  in  revolt 
against  even  that  faint  instinct  of  toleration  which 
her  prettiness  and  at  times  subtle  advances  had 
kindled  in  him.  He  let  his  thoughts  rest  upon  the 
more  wonderful  things  which  smouldered  in  his  brain 


THE  PROFITEERS  109 

and  leaped  like  fire  through  his  veins  when  he  dared 
to  think  of  them.  The  room  seemed  suddenly  puri- 
fied, made  fit  for  her  presence. 

"  I  am  sure  that  Mr.  Wingate  will  see  me  if  he  is 
alone,"  he  heard  a  familiar  voice  say. 

He  sprang  to  his  feet,  realising  in  those  few  mo- 
ments into  what  paradise  his  thoughts  had  been 
climbing,  and  greeted  Lady  Dredlinton. 

Josephine  accepted  the  easy-chair  which  he 
wheeled  up  for  her  and  glanced  around  the  room 
critically. 

"  Just  what  I  expected,"  she  murmured.  "  A  nice 
healthy  man's  room,  without  too  much  furniture, 
and  with  plenty  of  books.  You  are  wondering  why 
I  came,  of  course." 

"  I  am  too  content  with  the  good  fortune 
which  brought  you  to  find  time  for  wonder,"  he 
replied. 

"  You'll  laugh  at  me  when  I  tell  you,"  she  warned 
him. 

"  You  needn't  tell  me  at  all  unless  you  like.  You 
are  here.  That  is  enough  for  me." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  am  putting  myself  in  the  confessional,"  she 
declared.  "  I  was  leaving  the  place  with  a  disagree- 
able taste  in  my  mouth.  At  the  last  moment,  even 
as  I  was  stepping  into  a  taxicab,  I  turned  back.  I 


no  THE  PROFITEERS 

went  instead  to  the  desk  and  boldly  asked  for  the 
number  of  your  suite.  I  want  that  taste  removed, 
please." 

"  Tell  me  how  I  can  do  it  in  the  quickest  possible 
manner,"  he  begged. 

She  turned  and  looked  at  him,  enquiringly  at  first, 
then  with  a  delightful  little  smile  which  relieved  all 
the  tenseness  of  her  expression. 

"  By  assuring  me  that  you  are  not  going  to  emu- 
late, in  however  innocent  a  fashion,  my  husband's 
exploits  in  the  musical  comedy  world." 

He  leaned  over  her  chair,  took  her  hands  in  his 
and  looked  into  her  eyes. 

"  Honestly,"  he  asked,  "  do  you  need  any  assur- 
ance? " 

"  That  is  the  funny  part  of  it,"  she  laughed. 
"  Since  I  am  here,  since  I  have  seen  you,  I  don't  feel 
that  I  do,  but  downstairs  I  had  quite  a  horrid  little 
pain." 

"You  will  never  have  occasion  to  feel  it  again," 
he  told  her.  "  I  met  Miss  Flossie  Lane  last  night 
for  the  first  time  at  the  supper  party  to  which  Roger 
Kendrick  took  me.  I  -was  placed  next  to  her,  and 
somehow  or  other  she  seems  to  have  convinced  her- 
self that  I  invited  her  to  lunch  to-day." 

"And  you?" 

"  To  be  perfectly  honest  I  can't  remembter  having 


THE  PROFITEERS  in 

done  anything  of  the  sort.  However,  what  was  I 
to  do?" 

"  What  you  did,  of  course.  That  is  finished. 
Now  tell  me  about  that  supper  party.  What  hap- 
pened? Was  Dredlinton  really  rude  to  you?  " 

"  Your  husband  was  drunk,"  Wingate  answered. 
"  He  was  rude  to  everybody." 

"  And  what  was  the  end  of  it?  " 

"  I  carried  him  out  of  the  room  and  locked  him 
up,"  he  told  her. 

She  laughed  softly. 

"  I  can  see  you  doing  it,"  she  declared.  "  Are  you 
as  strong  as  you  look,  Mr.  John  Wingate  ?  " 

"  I  am  certainly  strong  enough  to  carry  you  away 
and  lock  you  up  if  you  don't  call  me  John,"  he 
replied. 

"  John,  then,"  she  said.  "  I  don't  mind  calling 
you  John.  I  like  it.  How  fortunate,"  she  went  on 
lazily,  "  that  we  really  did  get  to  know  one  another 
well  in  those  days  at  Etaples.  It  saves  one  from  all 
those  twinges  one  feels  about  sudden  friendships,  for 
you  know,  after  all,  in  a  way,  nothing  at  Etaples 
counted.  You  were  just  the  most  charming  of  my 
patients,  and  the  most  interesting,  but  still  a  pa- 
tient. Here,  you  simply  walk  into  my  life  and  take 
me  by  storm.  You  make  a  very  foolish  woman  cf 
me.  If  I  had  to  say  to  myself,  '  Why,  I  hare  known 


ii2  THE  PROFITEERS 

him  less  than  a  week ! '  it  would  hurt  my  pride  hor- 
ribly." 

"  Blessed  little  bit  of  shell  that  found  a  tempo- 
rary shelter  in  my  arm !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  All  tl*e 
same,  I  feel  just  as  you  do.  Out  there,  for  all  your 
graciousness,  you  were  something  sacred,  something 
far  away." 

"  And  here?  "  she  whispered. 

"  Shall  I  tell  you  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a  sudden  fire 
in  his  eyes. 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  no ! "  she  begged,  thrusting 
out  her  hands.  "  I'm  afraid  to  think  —  afraid  of 
actual  thoughts.  Don't  let  us  give  form  to  any- 
thing. Let  me  be  content  to  just  feel  this  new 
warmth  in  my  life." 

She  leaned  back  in  her  chair  with  a  contented 
sigh.  A  little  tug  came  snorting  up  the  river. 
Even  the  roar  of  the  traffic  over  Waterloo  Bridge 
seemed  muffled  and  disintegrated  by  the  breeze  which 
swept  on  its  way  through  the  rustling  lime  trees. 

"  You  are  wonderfully  situated  here,"  she  went  on. 
"  I  don't  believe  it  is  London  at  all.  It  rests  me 
more  than  any  place  I  have  been  in  for  a  long  time, 
and  yet  —  at  the  same  time  —  I  think  that  it  is 
going  to  make  me  sad." 

"  Sad?     But  why?"  he  asked  anxiously. 

"  Because  it  seems  like  one  of  the  stopping  places 


THE  PROFITEERS  113 

—  where  one  steps  off  to  think,  you  know.  I  don't 
want  to  think.  I  have  had  nine  such  miserable 
years.  All  through  the  war  there  was  one's  work, 
one's  hospital,  the  excitement  of  the  gigantic  strug- 
gle. And  now  everything  seems  flat.  One  strug- 
gles on  without  incentive.  One  lives  without  hope." 

"  We  weren't  meant  to  do  that,"  he  protested. 

"  Only  those  of  us  who  have  thrown  our  lives 
away,"  she  went  on  wearily.  "  You  see,  I  thought 
Henry  was  different.  I  thought  he  only  wanted  a 
little  understanding,  a  little  kindness.  I  made  a 
mistake." 

"  Life  is  too  wonderful  a  thing,"  he  insisted,  "  to 
lose  the  glor3T  of  it  for  one  mistake." 

"  I  am  on  the  rocks,"  she  sighed,  "  now  and  always. 
If  I  were  made  like  your  little  luncheon  friend,  it 
might  be  different.  I  suppose  I  should  spread  my 
wings  and  settle  down  upon  another  planet.  But  I 
can't.  I  am  differently  made.  I  am  not  proud  of 
it.  I  wish  I  weren't.  It  wouldn't  all  seem  so  hard 
then.  I  am  still  young,  you  know,  really,"  she 
added,  with  a  note  of  rebellion  in  her  tone. 

"  How  young?  " 

"  Thirty-one." 

"  Nowadays,  that  is  youth,"  he  declared  con- 
fidently, "  and  youth  means  hope." 

"  Sometimes,"  she  admitted  a  little  listlessly,  "  I 


n4  THE  PROFITEERS 

have  dared  to  feel  hope.  I  have  felt  it  more  than 
ever  since  you  came.  I  don't  know  why,  but  there 
it  is." 

He  turned  his  head  and  looked  at  her,  appraisingly 
yet  with  reverence.  No  measure  of  despair  could 
alter  the  fact  that  she  was  a  very  beautiful  woman. 
Her  slimness  never  lost  its  meed  of  elegance.  The 
pallor  of  her  cheeks,  which  might  have  seemed  like 
an  inheritance  of  fragility,  was  counteracted  by  the 
softness  of  her  skin  and  the  healthy  colour  of  her 
curving  lips.  She  bore  his  scrutiny  so  impersonally, 
with  such  sweet  and  challenging  interest,  that  he 
persisted  in  it.  Her  brown  hair  was  almost  trouble- 
some in  its  prodigality.  There  were  little  curls 
about  her  neck  which  defied  restraint.  Her  cool  mus- 
lin gown,  even  to  his  untutored  perceptions,  revealed 
a  distinction  which  the  first  dressmaker  in  London 
had  endorsed.  She  spoke  the  words  of  lifelessness, 
yet  she  possessed  everything  which  men  desire. 

"  The  tragedy  with  you,"  he  pronounced,  "  is  the 
absence  of  affection  in  your  life." 

"  Do  you  think  that  I  haven't  the  power  for  car- 
ing? "  she  asked  quietly. 

"  I  think  that  you  have  had  no  one  to  care  for," 
he  answered.  "  I  think  there  has  been  no  one  to  care 
for  you  in  the  way  you  wanted  —  but  those  days 
are  over." 


THE  PROFITEERS  115 

For  the  first  time  she  showed  some  signs  of  that 
faint  and  growing  uneasiness  in  his  presence  which 
brought  with  it  a  peculiar  and  nameless  joy.  Her 
eyes  failed  to  meet  the  challenge  of  his.  She  glanced 
at  the  clock  and  changed  the  subject  abruptly. 

"  Do  you  know  that  I  have  been  here  all  this 
time,"  she  reminded  him,  "  and  we  have  not  said  a 
word  about  our  campaign." 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  connected  with  it,  or  rather 
my  side  of  it,"  he  declared,  "  which  I  shall  never 
tell  you." 

"You  trust  me?"  she  asked  a  little  timidly. 
"  You  don't  think  that  I  should  betray  you  to  my 
husband?  " 

He  laughed  the  idea  to  scorn. 

"  It  isn't  that,"  he  assured  her.  "  The  machinery 
I  have  knocked  into  shape  is  crude  in  its  way,  but 
the  lives  and  liberty  of  those  underneath  depend  upon 
its  workings." 

"  It  sounds  mysterious,"  she  confessed. 

"  If  you  say  that  it  is  to  be  an  alliance,  Jo- 
sephine," he  decided,  "  it  shall  be.  I  need  your  help 
enormously,  but  you  must  make  up  your  mind,  be- 
fore you  say  the  last  word,  to  run  a  certain  measure 
of  risk." 

"What  risk  is  there  for  me  to  run?"  she  asked, 
with  a  smile  of  confidence.  "  What  measure  of  un- 


n6  THE  PROFITEERS 

happiness  could  be  crowded  into  my  life  which  is  not 
already  there?  I  insist  upon  it  —  John  —  that  you 
accept  me  as  an  ally  without  any  more  hesitation." 

He  bent  and  kissed  her  hands. 

"  This,  then,  is  final,"  he  said.  "  Within  the  next 
twenty-four  hours  you  will  be  ready  if  necessary?  " 

"  I  am  ready  now  —  any  time  —  always,"  she 
promised  him. 


CHAPTER  XI 

"My  dears,"  Lady  Amesbury  said,  as  she  stood 
surrounded  by  her  guests  on  the  hearth  rug  of  her 
drawing-room,  "  you  know  what  my  Sunday  night 
dinner  parties  are  —  all  sorts  and  plenty  of  them, 
and  never  a  dull  man  or  a  plain  woman  if  I  can  help 
it.  To-night  I've  got  a  new  man.  He's  not  much 
to  look  at,  but  they  tell  me  he's  a  multimillionaire 
and  making  all  the  poor  people  of  the  country  mis- 
erable. He's  doing  something  about  making  bread 
dearer.  I  never  did  understand  these  things." 

"  Heavens,  you  don't  mean  Peter  Phipps  !  "  Sarah 
exclaimed. 

"  His  very  name,"  her  aunt  declared.  "  How  did 
you  guess  it,  my  dear?  Here  he  is.  Be  quiet,  all 
of  you,  and  watch  Grover  announce  him.  He's  such 
a  snob  —  Grover.  He  hates  a  Mister,  anyhow,  and 
*  Peter  Phipps  '  will  dislocate  his  tongue." 

Lady  Amesbury  was  disappointed.  Grover  had 
marched  with  the  times,  and  the  presence  of  a  million- 
aire made  itself  felt.  His  announcement  was  sonor- 
ous and  respectful.  Mr.  Peter  Phipps  made  his  bow 


n8  THE  PROFITEERS 

to  his  hostess  under  completely  auspicious  circum- 
stances. 

"  So  kind  of  you  not  to  forget,  Mr.  Phipps,"  she 
murmured.  "  My  Sunday  parties  are  alwavs  viva 
voce  invitations,  and  what  between  not  remembering 
whom  I've  asked,  and  not  knowing  whether  those  I've 
asked  will  remember,  I  generally  find  it  horribly  dif- 
ficult to  arrange  the  places.  We  are  all  right  to-  ' 
night,  though.  Only  two  missing.  Who  are  they, 
Sarah?  " 

"  Josephine  and  Mr.  Wingate,"  Sarah  replied, 
with  a  covert  glance  at  Phipps. 

"  Of  course !  And  thank  goodness,  here  they  are ! 
Together,  too!  If  there's  anything  I  love,  it's  to 
start  one  of  my  dinners  with  a  scandal.  Josephine, 
did  you  bring  Mr.  Wingate  or  did  he  bring  you?" 

Josephine  laughed.  Then  she  saw  Phipps  stand- 
ing in  the  background  and  she  raised  her  voice  a 
little. 

"  Mr.  Wingate  called  for  me,"  she  explained. 
"  Taxis  are  so  scarce  in  our  part  of  the  world  on 
Sunday  nights,  and  when  one  does  happen  to  know 
a  man  who  makes  enough  money  on  Friday  to  buy  a 
fleet  of  motor-cars  on  Saturday  — " 

"  My  doing,"  Kendrick  interrupted.  "  I'm  his 
broker.  Did  you  buy  the  Rolls-Royce,  Wingate?  " 

"  I  brought  it  away  with  me,  chauffeur  and  all." 


THE  PROFITEERS  119 

"  The  most  delightful  car  I  ever  rode  in,M  Jo- 
sephine pronounced. 

Phipps  manoeuvred  his  way  to  her  side.  There 
was  a  frown  on  his  forehead  as  he  leaned  towards 
her. 

"  So  a  Rolls-Royce  is  your  favourite  make  of  car, 
Lady  Dredlinton,"  he  remarked. 

"  Absolutely !  I  can't  conceive  of  anything  more 
comfortable.  Mr.  Wingate  has  promised  to  let  me 
try  it  in  the  country  next  week." 

"  So  my  Wolseley  is  to  be  scrapped?  "  Phipps 
asked,  under  his  breath. 

She  looked  at  him  pleasantly  enough  but  with  a 
dangerous  light  in  her  eyes. 

"Have  you  a  Wolseley?"  she  murmured.  "Oh, 
yes,  I  remember!  You  offered  to  send  it  around  to 
take  me  shopping." 

"  I  sent  it  around  three  mornings,"  he  replied. 
"  You  did  not  use  it  once.  You  did  not  even  open 
the  note  I  left  inside." 

"  I  am  not  very  fond  of  using  other  people's 
cars,"  she  said. 

"  It  need  not  be  another  person's  car  unless  you 
like,"  he  muttered. 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  thoughtfully. 
Phipps  was  a  man  of  brass,  without  sensitiveness  or 
sensibility.  Nevertheless,  he  flushed  a  little.  Just 


120  THE  PROFITEERS 

then  dinner  was  announced  and  Lady  Amesbury  bus- 
tled once  more  into  the  midst  of  her  guests. 

"  My  dears,"  she  told  them  all,  "  I've  forgotten 
who  takes  anybody  down!  Scrap  along  as  you  are, 
and  you'll  find  the  cards  in  your  places  downstairs. 
Pick  up  any  one  you  like.  Not  you,  sir,"  she  added, 
turning  to  Wingate.  "  You're  going  to  take  me.  I 
want  to  hear  all  the  latest  New  York  gossip.  And 
-  lean  down,  please  —  are  you  really  trying  to  flirt 
with  Josephine  Dredlinton?  Don't  disturb  her  un- 
less you're  in  earnest.  She's  gpt  a  horrible  hus- 
band." 

"  I  admire  Lady  Dredlinton  more  than  any  woman 
I  know,"  Wingate  answered.  "  One  does  not  flirt 
with  the  woman  one  really  cares  for." 

"  Hoity-toity ! "  Lady  Amesbury  exclaimed. 
"  That's  the  real  divorce-court  tone.  There  was  a 
young  man  —  I  don't  know  how  many  years  ago  — 
who  used  to  talk  like  that  to  me  at  the  time  Ames- 
bury  was  Ambassador  at  Madrid  and  took  up  with 
that  Lola  de  Mendoza  woman.  Neither  affair  came 
to  anything,  though.  Amesbury  got  tired  of  Spain, 
and  my  young  man  married  a  rich  grocer's  daugh- 
ter. Still,  I  recognise  the  tone.  Here  we  all  are. 
Now  you  play  a  sort  of  hunt-the-slipper  game,  look- 
ing for  your  places,  all  of  you.  I  know  mine,  thank 
God!  Now  let's  pray  to  Heaven  the  soup's  hot! 


THE  PROFITEERS  121 

And  don't  any  one  talk  to  me  while  I'm  eating  it. 
The  present  generation  are  shocking  soup  eaters." 

Wingate  found  Josephine  on  his  other  side  and 
was  happy.  Phipps  was  just  across  the  table.  His 
hostess  proceeded  to  give  the  latter  some  of  her  at- 
tention. 

"  Mr.  Phipps,"  she  said,  "  they  tell  me  you've 
taken  that  scoundrel  of  a  nephew  of  mine  —  Dred- 
linton  —  into  your  business,  whatever  it  is.  He 
won't  do  you  any  good,  you  know." 

"  I'm  very  sorry  to  hear  that,"  Phipps  replied. 
"  He  seemed  to  me  rather  a  brainy  person  for  his 
order." 

"  One  for  me,"  Lady  Amesbury  chuckled.  "  I 
don't  care.  If  I  chose  to  come  on  the  Stock  Ex- 
change, I've  got  brains  enough  to  ruin  most  of  you. 
But  I  don't  choose.  I  like  to  hear  of  the  rest  of 
you  tearing  yourselves  to  pieces,  though.  If  you 
could  keep  Dredlinton  out  of  mischief  for  a  year, 
Mr.  Phipps,  I'd  think  you  were  the  most  wonder- 
ful man  I  ever  met.  He's  a  bad  lot,  but  I  tolerate 
him  because  I  love  his  wife." 

Phipps  scowled  across  the  table  to  where  Win- 
gate's  head  was  nearly  touching  Josephine's. 

"  Lady  Dredlinton  seems  to  be  achieving  great 
popularity  in  every  direction,"  he  said  sourly. 

"And  a  jolly  good  thing,  too,"  Lady  Amesbury 


122  THE  PROFITEERS 

declared.  "  If  ever  a  woman  earned  the  right  to  kick 
the  traces  away  for  a  bit,  Josephine  has.  Don't  you 
mind  anything  I  say,  my  dear,"  she  added,  as  Jo- 
sephine looked  up  at  the  sound  of  her  name.  "  You 
settle  down  to  a  nice  comfortable  flirtation,  if  you 
want  to.  You  owe  it  to  yourself,  all  right,  and  then 
there's  some  coming  to  you.  And  I'm  your  hus- 
band's aunt  who  tells  you  that." 

"  I'm  not  at  all  sure,"  Phipps  observed,  "  that 
you  don't  underrate  your  nephew's  ability." 

"  The  only  thing  I  know  about  his  ability,"  was 
the  blunt  reply,  "  is  his  ability  to  borrow  a  few  hun- 
dreds from  any  one  fool  enough  to  lend  it  to  him,  and 
then  invent  excuses  for  not  paying  it  back.  He's 
good  at  that,  if  you  like.  Still,  don't  let  me  set 
you  against  him,  Mr.  Phipps.  Every  shilling  he  gets 
out  of  you  and  your  company  is  so  much  saved  to 
the  family." 

Lady  Amesbury,  who,  notwithstanding  her  ap- 
parent inconsequence,  had  a  keen  eye  for  her  guests, 
directed  her  conversation  for  a  time  into  another 
channel,  and  finally  changed  places  with  Sarah  in 
order  to  come  into  closer  touch  with  a  spiritualist 
from  Sweden,  who  was  on  the  lookout  for  a  medium. 
Sarah  turned  appealingly  toward  Wingate. 

"  Jimmy  and  I  want  to  be  taken  to  the  theatre 
to-morrow  night,"  she  announced.  "  He  doesn't  get 


THE  PROFITEERS  123 

any  money  till  Wednesday,  and  I  haven't  earned 
enough  this  week  to  pay  my  garage  bill." 

"  I'll  take  you  both,"  Wingate  promised  quickly, 
"  if  Lady  Dredlinton  will  make  a  fourth." 

"  Delightful,"  Josephine  assented. 

"  I  have  a  box  at  the  Opera,"  Phipps  announced, 
leaning  forward.  "  Give  me  the  pleasure  of  enter- 
taining you  all." 

Josephine  shook  her  head. 

"  Tannhauser !  I  am  sorry,  Mr.  Phipps,  but  I 
couldn't  possibly  stand  it.  Ask  us  another  time, 
won't  you?  To-morrow  night,"  she  went  on,  turn- 
ing to  Wingate,  "  let  us  be  absolutely  frivolous.  A 
revue,  I  think." 

"  And  dinner  first  at  the  Milan,"  Wingate  in- 
sisted. 

"  And  supper  afterwards  and  a  dance  at  Giro's," 
Sarah  put  in.  "  I  must  tell  Jimmy  the  glad  tidings.'* 

Peter  Phipps  made  his  adieux  to  Lady  Amesbury 
early  and  drove  in  his  electric  coupe  first  to  Ro- 
mano's, then  to  the  Milan  and  finally  to  Giro's. 
Here  he  found  Dredlinton,  seated  in  a  corner  by  him- 
self, a  little  sulky  at  the  dancing  proclivities  of  the 
young  lady  whom  he  had  brought.  He  greeted 
Phipps  with  some  surprise. 

"  Hullo,  Dreadnought !  "  he  exclaimed.     "  What's 


i24  THE  PROFITEERS 

wrong   with  my   garrulous   aunt?     Has   the  party 
broken  up  early  or  weren't  you  a  success?  " 

"  I  wasn't  a  success,"  Phipps  confessed  grimly. 
"  Look  here,  Dredlinton,  are.,  you  sober  enough  to 
talk  horse  common  sense?" 

"  Sober?  My  God,  can  you  tell  me  how  any  one 
can  get  a  drink  here!"  was  the  injured  reply.  "I 
was  just  off  somewhere  else.  One  bottle  of  cham- 
pagne, if  you  please,  between  two  of  us,  and  the 
liqueur  brandies  were  served  with  the  soup.  Call 
this  a  Christian  country ! " 

"  Then  if  you're  sober,  and  for  once  you  seem  to 
be,"  Phipps  said,  "  just  listen  to  me.  Listen  hard, 
mind,  and  don't  interrupt.  Have  you  ever  wondered 
why  I  put  you  on  the  Board  of  the  B.  &  I.?  " 

"  My  title,  I  suppose  —  and  social  position." 

"  Rot !  "  Phipps  answered  scornfully.  "  Your 
title  and  your  social  position  aren't  worth  a  damn 
to  me.  I  put  you  on  because  of  your  wife." 

Dredlinton  stared  at  him. 

"  Why,  you  didn't  even  know  her !  " 

"  Never  mind.  I  knew  her  to  look  at.  I  wanted 
to  know  her.  Now  I  do  know  her,  and  it  hasn't 
done  me  much  good." 

Dredlinton  sat  a  little  more  erect  in  his  place. 
Behind  his  cynical  exterior,  his  evil  brain  had  begun 
to  work. 


THE  PROFITEERS  125 

"  Look  here,  Phipps,"  he  said,  "  I  don't  care  about 
this  conversation.  If  a  man  happens  to  admire  an- 
other man's  wife,  her  husband  is  scarcely  the  proper 
confidant." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  know  your  theory ! "  Phipps  scoffed. 
"  You're  willing  enough  to  hide  your  head  in  the 
sand  and  take  the  goods  the  gods  send  you.  That 
doesn't  suit  me.  I  happen  to  need  your  help." 

"My  help?"  Dredlinton  repeated.  "The  poor 
little  spider  to  help  the  mighty  Phipps !  You're  not 
finding  difficulties  in  the  way  of  your  suit,  are  you?  " 

"  If  I  do,  it  will  be  the  worse  for  you,"  was  the 
gruff  reply.  "  As  you're  going  on  now,  Dredlinton, 
it  will  be  your  wife,  and  your  wife  alone,  who'll  keep 
you  out  of  jail  before  many  weeks  are  past.  How 
about  that  cheque  to  Farnham  and  Company  last 
week?  Farnham's  say  they  never  got  it,  but  I  hear 
it's  come  back  through  the  bank  with  a  queer  en- 
dorsement upon  it." 

Dredlinton  caught  at  the  tablecloth.  The  ma- 
licious gleam  in  his  eyes  gave  way  to  a  look  of  posi- 
tive fear. 

"  I  can't  remember  —  anything  here  —  without 
any  books,"  he  muttered.  "  Tell  me  what  it  is  you 
want,  Phipps?  I  am  ready  to  do  anything  —  you 
know  that." 

"  Your  wife's  friendship  with  this  fellow  Wingate 


126  THE  PROFITEERS 

has  got  to  be  nipped  in  the  bud,"  Phipps  declared. 

"Yes,  but  how?"  Dredlinton  demanded.  "Jo- 
sephine and  I  aren't  anything  to  one  another  any 
more  —  you  know  that.  She  goes  her  own  way." 

"  She  lives  in  your  house,"  Phipps  said.  "  You 
remain  her  husband  nominally  and  you  have  there- 
fore a  certain  amount  of  authority.  You  must  for- 
bid her  to  receive  Wingate." 

"  I'll  forbid  her,  all  right,"  Dredlinton  assented, 
"  but  I  won't  guarantee  that  she'll  obey." 

"  Then  you  must  give  orders  to  the  servants," 
Phipps  insisted.  "  I  don't  need  to  suggest  to  you, 
Dredlinton,"  he  went  on,  "  what  means  you  should 
use  to  make  your  wife  obey  you,  but  there  are  means, 
and  if  you're  not  the  man  to  realise  them,  I'm  very 
much  surprised  in  you.  I  will  begin  with  a  con- 
crete case.  Your  wife,  together  with  that  fellow 
Wilshaw  and  Miss  Baldwin,  have  accepted  an  invi- 
tation from  Wingate  to  dine  and  go  to  a  theatre 
to-morrow  night.  You  must  see  that  your  wife  does 
not  go." 

"  Very  well,"  Dredlinton  promised,  "  I'll  manage 
it  somehow." 

"  See  that  you  do,"  Phipps  enjoined  earnestly. 
"  Your  wife  is  one  of  those  misguided  women  with  a 
strong  sense  of  duty.  Unless  you  behave  like  a  damn 
fool,  you  can  reestablish  some  measure  of  control  over 


THE  PROFITEERS  127 

her.  Do  so.  There  are  certain  circumstances,"  he 
went  on,  his  face  wrinkled  a  little  with  emotion,  his 
voice  deep  and  earnest,  "  there  are  certain  circum- 
stances, Dredlinton,  under  which  I  might  be  inclined 
to  behave  towards  you  with  great  generosity.  I 
leave  you  to  guess  what  those  circumstances  are.  I 
will  show  you  the  way  later  on." 

Dredlinton  felt  hope  stir  once  more  through  his 
shocked  and  terrified  senses.  He  lit  a  cigarette  with 
fingers  which  had  ceased  to  tremble,  leaned  a  little 
back  in  his  place  and  stared  at  his  companion  curi- 
ously. 

"  Phipps,"  he  asked,  "  what  the  devil  do  you  and 
this  fellow  Wingate  see  in  my  wife  ?  " 

"  What  a  man  like  you  would  never  look  for,"  was 
the  harsh  reply. 


CHAPTER  XII 

"  Throw  your  coat  down  anywhere,  Miss  Bald- 
win," Wingate  invited,  as  he  ushered  that  young 
lady  into  his  rooms  soon  after  eleven  o'clock  on  the 
following  evening.  "  Now  what  can  I  give  you  ? 
There  are  some  sandwiches  here  —  ham  and  pate-de- 
foie-gras,  I  think.  Whisky  and  soda  or  some 
hock?" 

"  A  pate  sandwich  and  some  plain  soda  water, 
please,"  Sarah  replied,  taking  off  the  long  motoring 
coat  which  concealed  her  evening  clothes.  "  I  have 
been  fined  for  everything  except  disorderly  driving 
—  daren't  risk  that.  Thanks ! "  she  went  on. 
"  What  ripping  sandwiches !  And  quite  a  good 
play,  wasn't  it?  " 

"  I  am  glad  you  enjoyed  it." 

"  It  was  a  swindle  Josephine  not  turning  up," 
Sarah  continued,  as  she  stretched  herself  out  in  Win- 
gate's  easy-chair.  "  Domestic  ructions  again,  I 
suppose.  How  I  do  hate  that  husband  of  hers !  " 

"  It  was  disappointing,"  he  admitted. 


THE  PROFITEERS  129 

There  was  a  brief  pause,  during  which  Sarah  fin- 
ished her  sandwiches  and  lit  a  cigarette. 

"  Wilshaw  seems  to  be  having  a  little  trouble  with 
the  outside  porter,"  "her  host  remarked  presently. 

"  It  must  cost  him  at  least  half  a  sovereign  every 
time  I  leave  the  cab,"  Sarah  sighed. 

"  How  much  do  you  make  a  week  out  of  your  driv- 
ing, if  it  isn't  too  personal  a  question?  "  he  enquired. 

"  It  depends  upon  how  much  Jimmy's  got." 

"  Is  he  your  only  client,  then  ?  " 

"  He  very  seldom  gives  me  a  chance  of  another. 
Once  or  twice  I've  refused  to  be  engaged  by  the  day, 
but  he  sends  his  man  around  to  the  garage  and  I 
find  him  sitting  in  the  cab  when  I  arrive." 

Wingate  laughed  softly.  She  looked  up  at  him 
with  twinkling  eyes. 

"  I  believe  you're  making  fun  of  my  profession," 
she  complained. 

"  Not  at  all,  but  I  was  wondering  whether  it 
wouldn't  be  cheaper  for  you  to  marry  Jimmy,  as  you 
call  him." 

"  We  have  spoken  about  it  once  or  twice,"  she  ad- 
mitted. "  The  worst  of  it  is,  I  don't  think  the  cab 
would  support  two." 

"  Is  Wilshaw  so  badly  off?  " 

"  His  money  is  tied  up  until  he  is  twenty-eight," 
Sarah  explained.  "  I  think  that  his  father  must 


130  THE  PROFITEERS 

have  known  how  he  was  going  to  turn  out.  Jimmy 
promised  that  he  would  never  anticipate  it,  and  the 
dear  old  thing  keeps  his  word.  We  shall  be  married 
on  his  twenty-eighth  birthday,  all  right,  unless  his 
mother  does  the  decent  thing  before." 

"  Has  she  money?  "  Wingate  asked. 

"  Plenty  —  but  she  hasn't  much  confidence  in 
Jimmy.  I  think  she  shows  signs  of  wavering  lately, 
though.  Perhaps  his  latest  idea  —  he's  going  into 
the  City  to-morrow,  you  know  —  may  bring  her 
around. —  Mr.  Wingate !  " 

"Well?" 

"  You're  rather  a  dear  old  thing,  you  know,"  she 
said,  "  although  you're  so  serious." 

"  And  you're  quite  nice,"  he  admitted,  "  although 
you're  such  an  incorrigible  little  flirt." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  "  she  laughed.  "  You  never 
give  me  a  chance  of  showing  what  I  can  do  in  that 
direction." 

"  Too  old,  my  dear  young  lady,"  her  host  la- 
mented, as  he  mixed  himself  a  whisky  and  soda. 

"  Rubbish !  "  she  scoffed.  "  Too  much  in  love 
with  some  one  else,  I  believe." 

"  These  are  too  strenuous  days  for  that  sort  of 
thing,"  he  rejoined,  "  except  for  children  like  you 
and  Mr.  Wilshaw." 

"  I  don't  know  so  much  about  that,"  she  objected. 


THE  PROFITEERS  131 

"  The  world  has  never  gone  so  queerly  that  people 
haven't  remembered  to  go  on  loving  and  be  made  love 
to.  Look  at  the  war  marriages." 

"  Yes  —  and  the  war  divorces,"  he  reminded  her. 

"  Brute !  "  she  exclaimed,  with  a  little  grimace. 

"Why  *  brute'?"  he  protested.  "You  can't 
deny  them.  Some  of  these  marriages  were  genuine 
enough,  of  course.  Others  were  simply  the  result  of 
a  sort  of  amorous  hysteria.  Affected  every  one  in 
those  days  just  like  a  germ." 

"  John  Wingate !  " 

"Yes?" 

"  Don't  try  to  be  cynical." 

"  I'm  not." 

"  You  are,"  she  persisted.  "  There  isn't  a  man 
breathing  who  has  a  more  wonderful  capacity  for 
caring  than  you.  You  hide  your  feelings  from  most 
people.  Are  you  very  angry  with  me  for  having 
guessed?  I  have,  you  know." 

Wingate  paused  in  the  act  of  lighting  a  cigarette. 

"What's  that?" 

"  I  think  I  have  a  sort  of  second  sight  in  such 
matters,  especially  as  regards  people  in  whom  I  am 
interested,"  Sarah  continued,  "  and  if  there  is  one 
woman  in  the  world  whom  I  really  adore,  and  for 
whom  I  am  heartily  sorry,  it  is  Josephine  Dredlin- 
ton." 


132  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  She  has  a  rotten  time,"  was  Wingate's  terse  com- 
ment. 

"  Very  few  people  know  how  rotten,"  Sarah  went 
on.  "  She  has  lost  nearly  all  her  own  relations  in 
the  war,  her  husband  has  spent  the  greater  part  of 
her  fortune,  flaunted  his  affairs  with  various  actresses 
in  the  face  of  all  London,  shilly-shallied  through  the 
war  as  a  recruiting  officer,  or  on  any  odd  job  that 
kept  him  safely  at  home,  and  now  he  openly  asso- 
ciates with  a  little  company  of  men  in  the  City  who 
are  out  to  make  money  any  old  way  they  can  get 
hold  of  it." 

"  Lord  Dredlinton  is  a  bad  lot,"  Wingate  ac- 
quiesced. 

"  And  Josephine  is  an  angel,"  Sarah  declared 
warmly.  "  If  I  were  a  man  — " 

"  Well,  you're  not,"  he  interrupted. 

"  If  I  were  a  man,"  she  went  on,  laying  her  hand 
upon  his,  "  I  wouldn't  let  Josephine  live  out  these 
best  days  of  her  life  in  sorrow.  I  wouldn't  have  her 
insulted  and  peered  at,  every  hour  of  her  life.  I 
wouldn't  see  her  living  in  torture,  when  all  the  time 
she  has  such  a  wonderful  capacity  for  life  and  love. 
Do  you  know  what  I'd  do,  Mr.  Wingate?" 

**  What  would  you  do?  "  he  asked. 

"  I'd  take  her  away !  I  wouldn't  care  about  any- 
body else  or  anything.  If  the  world  didn't  approve, 


THE  PROFITEERS  133 

I'd  make  a  little  world  of  my  own  and  put  her  in  it. 
You're  quite  strong  enough." 

He  looked  through  the  walls  of  the  room  for  a 
minute. 

"  Yes,  I  am  strong  enough,"  he  agreed,  "  but  is 
she?" 

"Why  do  you  doubt  her?"  Sarah  demanded. 
"  What  has  she  in  her  present  life  to  lose,  compared 
with  what  she  gains  from  you  —  what  she  wants 
more  than  anything  else  in  the  world  —  love?" 

He  made  no  answer.  The  girl's  words  had 
thrilled  him.  Then  the  door  swung  open  and  Jimmy 
appeared,  very  pink  and  white,  very  immaculate,  and 
looking  rather  more  helpless  than  usual. 

"  I  say,  Sarah,"  he  exclaimed,  "  it's  no  use ! 
There's  a  most  infernal  block  down  in  the  court- 
yard. Chap  wanted  me  to  push  the  taxi  out  into  the 
street.  It's  cost  me  all  the  loose  change  I've  got  to 
stop  his  sending  for  a  policeman.  We'll  have  to  do 
a  scoot." 

Sarah  sighed  as  her  host  arranged  her  cloak 
around  her. 

"  Sorry  we  couldn't  have  stayed  a  little  longer," 
she  said.  "  Mr.  Wingate  was  just  getting  most  in- 
teresting." 

"You'll  have  a  drink  before  you  go,  Wilshaw?" 
Wingate  insisted.  "  Say  when." 


134  THE  PROFITEERS 

The  young  man  accepted  the  whisky  and  soda  and 
promptly  disposed  of  it. 

"  Thanks,  old  chap !  Frightfully  sorry  to  rush 
away  like  this,  but  that  fellow  downstairs  means 
business." 

"  Good  night,  Mr.  Wingate,"  Sarah  said,  holding 
out  her  hand,  "  and  thanks  ever  so  much  for  the  eve- 
ning. You  don't  think  I'm  a  forward  little  minx,  do 
you?" 

"  I  think  you're  a  sensible  little  dear,"  he  assured 
her,  "  far  too  good  for  Jimmy." 

"  Sorry  I  accepted  your  hospitality,  if  that's  how 
you're  feeling,"  Jimmy  grunted.  "  By  the  by,  you 
haven't  a  few  cigarettes,  have  you,  for  me  to  smoke 
while  Sarah  tries  to  get  me  safely  home?  " 

Wingate  held  out  the  box. 

"  Fill  your  case,"  he  invited ;  "  your  pockets,  too, 
if  you  like.  Don't  forget,  both  of  you,  luncheon  at 
one-thirty  to-morrow  in  the  restaurant.  Good 
night !  " 

He  stood  with  the  door  open,  watching  them  go 
down  the  corridor.  Then  he  came  slowly  back  into 
his  room.  Once  more  the  telephone  bell  began  to 
ring.  He  picked  up  the  receiver.  The  indifference 
of  his  opening  monosyllable  vanished  in  a  second. 
Something  amazing  crept  into  his  face. 

"Who?  —  Lady     Dredlinton? "     he     exclaimed. 


THE  PROFITEERS  135 

"  But  where  are  you  ?  —  Downstairs  ?  —  Yes  —  Yes 
—  Why,  of  course. —  Here?  —  You  mean  that  you 
are  coming  here,  up  to  my  room  ?  —  I  don't  quite  un- 
derstand.—  Yes,  of  course. —  One  moment,  please. 
Come  up  by  the  east  lift  unless  you  want  to  meet 
Sarah  Baldwin  and  Wilshaw.  They  have  this  mo- 
ment left  me.  The  hall  porter  will  show  you." 

Wingate  laid  down  the  receiver,  glanced  for  a 
moment  at  the  clock,  hurried  to  the  door,  pushed 
back  and  secured  the  latch.  Then  he  came  back 
into  the  room  and  stood  listening. 

In  the  end  she  came  quite  suddenly.  The  door 
had  opened  and  closed  before  he  heard  even  the  swish 
of  her  skirts.  She  stood  there  looking  at  him  a  lit- 
tle appealingly.  She  was  dressed  in  dark  travelling 
clothes  and  she  carried  a  heavy  dressing  case  in  her 
hand.  He  sprang  forward  and  took  it  from  her. 

"  My  dear  friend,"  she  exclaimed,  with  an  attempt 
at  levity,  "  don't  look  so  tragic !  There  is  a  very 
simple  explanation  of  this  extraordinary  visit,  as 
you  will  soon  find." 

"  It  needs  no  explanation,"  he  declared. 

"  Oh,  yes,  it  does,  of  course,"  she  continued.  "  I 
simply  want  you  to  intercede  with  the  authorities 
here,  so  that  I  do  not  have  to  go  and  stand  at  that 
terrible  counter.  There  is  a  continental  train  just 
in,  and  the  place  is  crowded." 


i36  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  You  wish  to  stay  here  for  the  night?  " 

"  Mayn't  I  ?  I  have  always  heard  that  it  was  such 
a  charming  hotel,  and  I  must  stay  somewhere." 

"  There  is  some  trouble  ?  "  he  asked  slowly. 

"  There  is  always  trouble,"  she  replied,  with  a 
shrug  of  the  shoulders.  "  To-night  seems  to  me  as 
though  it  may  be  the  climax.  You  won't  be  horri- 
fied if  I  sit  down  and  smoke  one  of  your  cigarettes? 
And  may  I  remind  you  that  your  attitude  is  not  en- 
tirely hospitable?  " 

Wingate  had  recovered  from  his  first  stupor. 
His  eyes  were  very  bright,  he  was  filled  with  the 
sense  of  wonderful  happenings. 

"  Oh,  I'll  be  as  hospitable  as  you  like,"  he  assured 
her.  "  You  shan't  have  any  cause  to  reproach  me  so 
far  as  that  is  concerned.  This  easy-chair,  please. 
It  is  by  far  the  most  comfortable  one.  And  now 
some  cushions,"  he  added,  slipping  them  behind  her. 
**  The  cigarettes  are  here,  and  I  have  some  excellent 
hock.  Just  half  a  glass?  Good!  Miss  Baldwin 
has  been  praising  my  sandwiches.  You'll  have  one, 
won't  you  ?  " 

She  sighed  with  content,  almost  with  happiness. 
The  strained  look  had  gone  from  her  face.  She  took 
off  her  hat  and  he  laid  it  upon  the  table. 

"  You  are  very  good,  very  kind  indeed,"  she  mur- 
mured. 


THE  PROFITEERS  137 

"  And  yet  not  so  kind  as  I  would  like  to  be." 

He  came  and  stood  by  her  side.  She  was  eating 
one  of  the  sandwiches  and  had  already  tasted  the 
wine.  Somehow,  he  knew  quite  well  that  she  had  had 
no  dinner. 

"  I  want  you  to  understand,"  he  began,  "  that  you 
are  free  to  tell  me  what  has  happened  to-night  or  not 
—  just  as  you  please.  Don't  feel  obliged  to  ex- 
plain. I'll  be  quite  frank.  I  am  a  curious  person 
as  regards  you.  I  want  to  know  —  everything.  I 
should  like  to  know  how  it  was  that  you  were  unable 
to  come  to  dinner  or  join  us  at  the  theatre  to-night. 
I  should  like  to  know  what  has  brought  you  out  of 
your  house  to  an  hotel  at  midnight  —  but  don't  tell 
me  unless  you  want  to." 

"  I  do  want  to,"  she  assured  him.  "  I  want  to 
tell  you  everything.  I  think  —  somehow  I  almost 
feel  that  you  have  the  right  to  know." 

"  Cultivate  that  feeling,"  he  begged  her.  "  I  like 
it." 

She  smiled,  a  wan  little  smile  that  passed  very 
soon.  Her  face  grew  sad  again.  She  was  thinking. 

"  I  dare  say  you  can  guess,"  she  began  presently, 
"  something  of  what  my  daily  life  is  like  when  my 
husband  is  in  town.  It  is  little  less  than  torture, 
especially  since  he  became  mixed  up  with  Mr.  Phipps, 
that  horrible  person  Martin,  and  their  friends." 


i38  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Abominable !  "  Wingate  muttered. 

"  He  is  all  the  while  trying  to  induce  me  to  re- 
ceive their  women  friends,"  she  continued.  "  I  need 
not  tell  you  that  I  have  refused,  as  I  always  should 
refuse." 

"  Naturally ! " 

"  To-night,  however,"  she  went  on,  "  he  has  sur- 
passed himself.  First  of  all  he  telephoned  to  say 
that  he  was  bringing  home  friends  for  dinner,  and  if 
I  had  any  other  engagement  he  requested  me  to  can- 
cel it.  As  you  know,  I  did  so.  Notwithstanding  his 
message,  he  did  not  arrive  at  the  house  until  eleven 
o'clock,  barely  an  hour  ago." 

"  And  kept  you  waiting  all  that  time  ?  " 

"  That  is  nothing.  Let  me  explain  something  be- 
fore I  conclude.  Before  the  war  I  had  an  Austrian 
maid,  a  woman  whom  I  turned  out  of  the  house,  and 
whom  my  husband  at  that  time  did  not  dare  to  ask 
me  to  reinstate.  He  had  not  then  spent  quite  the 
whole  of  my  fortune.  Besides  an  undoubted  intrigue 
with  my  husband,  I  heard  afterwards  that  she  only 
escaped  imprisonment  as  a  spy  by  leaving  the  coun- 
try hurriedly  just  before  war  was  declared.  To- 
night, my  husband,  having  kept  me  waiting  three 
hours  while  he  dined  with  her  in  Soho,  brought  her 
back  to  the  house,  announcing  that  he  had  engaged 
her  as  his  secretary." 


THE  PROFITEERS  139 

"  Damn  the  fellow !  "  Wingate  muttered. 

"  Naturally,"  she  continued,  "  I  declined  to  sleep 
under  the  same  roof.  The  woman  remained  —  and 
here  am  I." 

"  You  are  here,"  he  repeated.  "  Thank  God  for 
that ! " 

"  It  was  perhaps  imprudent  of  me,"  she  sighed, 
"  to  choose  this  hotel,  but  I  had  a  curious  feeling  of 
weakness.  I  felt  that  I  must  see  some  one  to  whom 
I  could  tell  what  had  happened  —  some  friend  — 
before  I  slept.  Perhaps  my  nerves  are  going.  So 
I  came  to  you.  Did  I  do  wrong?  " 

"  The  wrong  would  be  if  ever  you  left  me,"  he  de- 
clared passionately. 

She  patted  his  hand.     "  Dear  friend !  " 

"  The  room  I  will  arrange  for  in  a  minute  or 
two,"  he  promised.  "  That  is  quite  easy.  But  to- 
morrow—  what  then?" 

"  I  shall  telephone  home,"  she  replied.  "  If  that 
woman  is  still  in  the  house,  I  shall  go  down  into  the 
country,  and  from  there  I  shall  write  my  lawyers 
and  apply  for  a  separation." 

"  So  those  are  your  plans,"  he  remarked  calmly. 

"  Yes.     Can  you  suggest  anything  better?  " 

"  I  can  suggest  something  a  thousand  times  bet- 
ter." 

She  hesitated  for  a  moment.     Perhaps  she  was 


i4o  THE  PROFITEERS 

conscious  of  a  certain  alteration  in  his  deportment, 
the  ring  of  his  last  words,  the  slight  but  unusual  air 
of  emotional  fervour  with  which  he  seemed  somehow 
to  have  become  endowed.  A  woman  of  curiously 
strong  virginal  instincts,  she  realised,  perhaps  for 
the  first  time,  the  approach  of  a  great  change  in  Win- 
gate's  attitude  towards  her.  Yet  she  could  not  keep 
from  her  lips  the  words  which  must  bring  his  avowal. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  faltered. 

"  That  you  end  it  all,"  he  advised  firmly,  "  that 
you  take  your  courage  in  both  hands,  that  you  do 
not  return  to  your  husband  at  all." 

"  Not  return,"  she  repeated,  her  eyes  held  by  his. 

"  That  you  come  to  me,"  he  went  on,  bending  over 
the  side  of  her  chair.  "  Needless,  wonderful  words, 
but  I  love  you.  You  were  the  first  woman  in  my  life. 
You  will  be  the  last.  I  have  been  silent,  as  you 
know.  I  have  waited  for  something  like  this,  and 
I  think  the  time  has  come." 

"  The  time  can  never  come,"  she  cried  despair- 
ingly. 

"  The  time  has  come  at  least  for  me  to  tell  you 
that  I  love  you  more  than  any  woman  on  earth,"  he 
declared,  "  that  I  want  to  take  care  of  you,  to  take 
you  into  my  life,  to  build  a  wall  of  passionate  devo- 
tion around  you,  to  keep  you  free  from  every  trouble 
and  every  harm." 


THE  PROFITEERS  141 

"  Ah,  dear  friend,  if  it  were  but  possible ! "  she 
murmured,  holding  his  hands  tightly. 

"  But  it  is  possible,"  he  insisted.  "  All  that  we 
need  is  courage.  You  owe  nothing  to  your  hus- 
band. You  can  leave  him  without  remorse  or  a  mo- 
ment's shame.  Your  life  just  now  is  wasted,  —  a 
precious  human  life.  I  want  you,  Josephine.  God 
knows  how  I  want  you !  " 

"  You  have  my  friendship  —  even  my  love. 
There,  I  have  said  it !  "  she  repeated,  with  a  little 
sob,  "  my  love." 

His  arms  were  suddenly  around  her.  She  shrank 
back  in  her  chair.  Her  terrified  eyes  invited  and  yet 
reproached  him. 

"  Remember  —  oh,  please  remember !  "  she  cried. 

"  What  can  I  remember  except  one  thing?  "  he 
whispered. 

She  held  him  away  from  her. 

"  You  talk  as  though  everything  were  possible 
between  us.  How  can  that  be?  I  have  no  joy  in 
my  husband,  nor  he  in  me  —  but  I  am  married.  We 
are  not  in  America." 

He  rose  to  his  feet,  a  strong  man  trembling  in 
every  limb.  He  stood  before  her,  trying  to  talk 
reasonably,  trying  to  plead  his  cause  behind  the 
shelter  of  reasonable  words. 

"  Let  me  tell  you,"  he  began,  "  why  our  divorce 


I42  THE  PROFITEERS 

laws  are  so  different  from  yours.  We  believe  that 
the  worst  breach  of  the  Seventh  Commandment  is 
the  sin  of  an  unloving  kiss,  the  unwillingly  given  arms 
of  a  shuddering  wife,  striving  to  keep  the  canons  of 
the  prayer  book  and  besmirching  thereby  her  life 
with  evil.  We  believe,  on  the  other  hand,  that  there 
is  no  sin  in  love." 

"  If  you  and  I  were  alone  in  the  world !  " 

"  If  you  are  thinking  of  your  friends,"  he  pleaded, 
"  they  are  more  likely  to  be  proud  of  the  woman 
who  had  the  courage  to  break  away  from  a  debasing 
union.  Every  one  realises  —  what  your  husband  is. 
He  has  been  unfaithful  not  only  to  you  but  to  every 
friend  he  has  ever  had." 

"  Do  I  not  know  it ! "  she  moaned.  "  Isn't  the 
pain  of  it  there  in  my  heart,  hour  by  hour !  " 

His  reasonableness  was  deserting  him.  Again  he 
was  the  lover,  begging  for  his  rights. 

"  Wipe  him  out  of  your  mind,  sweetheart,"  he 
begged.  "  I'll  buy  you  from  him,  if  you  like,  or 
fight  him  for  you,  or  steal  you  —  I  don't  care  which. 
Anything  sooner  than  let  you  go." 

"  I  don't  want  to  go,"  she  confessed,  afraid  of  her 
own  words,  shivering  with  the  meaning  of  them. 

"  You  never  shall,"  he  continued,  his  voice  gain- 
ing strength  with  his  rising  hopes.  "  You've 
opened  my  lips  and  you  must  hear  what  is  in  my 


THE  PROFITEERS  143 

heart.  You  are  the  one  love  of  my  life.  My  hours 
and  days  are  empty.  I  want  you  always  by  my 
side." 

The  love  of  him  swept  her  away.  Her  head  had 
fallen  back,  she  saw  his  face  through  the  mist. 

"  Go  on,  go  on,"  she  begged. 

"  I  want  you  as  I  have  wanted  nothing  else  in 
life  —  not  only  for  my  own  sake,  for  yours.  I  want 
to  chase  all  those  lines  of  sorrow  away  from  your 
face." 

"  My  poor,  tired  face,"  she  faltered. 

"Tired?"  he  repeated.  "It's  the  most  beauti- 
ful face  on  earth." 

The  smile  which  suddenly  transformed  her  quiv- 
ering mouth  made  it  indeed  seem  so. 

"  You  are  so  foolish,  dear,  but  go  on,"  she 
pleaded. 

"  I  want  to  see  you  grow  younger  and  lighter- 
hearted.  I  want  you  to  realise  day  by  day  that 
something  beautiful  is  stealing  into  your  life.  I 
want  you  to  feel  what  real  love  is  —  tender,  pas- 
sionate, lover's  love." 

"  My  dear,  my  dear ! "  she  cried.  "  I  do  not 
dare  to  think  of  these  things,  yet  they  sound  so  won- 
derful." 

"Leave  the  daring  to  me,  sweetheart,"  he  an- 
swered. "  You  shall  have  nothing  to  do  but  rest 


i44  THE  PROFITEERS 

after  these  horrible  days,  rest  and  care  for  me  a 
little." 

"  Oh,  I  do  care !  "  she  exclaimed,  with  sudden  pas- 
sion. "  That  is  what  makes  it  all  so  wonderful." 

"  You  love  me?  Tell  me  so  once  more?  "  he 
begged. 

"  Dear,  I  love  you.  You  must  have  known  it  or 
you  couldn't  have  said  these  things.  And  I  thought 
I  was  going  to  die  without  knowing  what  love  was.'* 

"  Never  fear  that  again,"  he  cried  joyfully. 
"  You  shall  know  what  it  is  every  hour  of  the  day. 
You  shall  know  what  it  is  to  feel  yourself  sur- 
rounded by  it,  to  feel  it  encompass  you  on  every 
side.  You  shall  know  what  it  is  to  have  some  one 
think  for  you,  live  for  you,  make  sweet  places  for 
your  footsteps  in  life." 

Her  eyes  shone.  The  years  had  fallen  away. 
She  rose  tremblingly  to  her  feet,  her  arms  stole 
around  his  neck. 

"  John,  you  dear,  wonderful  lover,"  she  whispered, 
"  why,  it  has  come  already !  I  am  forgetting  every- 
thing. I  am  happy !  " 

The  clock  on  Wingate's  mantelpiece  struck  one. 
He  drew  himself  gently  away  from  the  marvel  of 
those  soft  entwining  arms,  stooped  -and  kissed 
Josephine's  fingers  reverently. 


THE  PROFITEERS  145 

"Dear,"  he  said,  "let  me  begin  to  take  up  my 
new  responsibilities.  We  must  arrange  for  your 
stay  here." 

She  laughed  happily,  rose,  and  with  a  woman's 
instinct  stood  before  the  mirror,  patting  her  hair. 

"  I  don't  recognise  myself,"  she  murmured.  "  Is 
this  what  love  brings,  John  ?  " 

He  stood  for  a  moment  by  her  side. 

"  Love  ?  "  he  repeated.  "  Why,  you  haven't  be- 
gun yet  to  realise  what  it  means  —  what  it  will 
bring  to  you." 

Once  more  she  set  her  hands  upon  his  shoulders. 
Her  eyes,  which  a  moment  before  had  looked  so 
longingly  into  his,  drooped  for  a  moment. 

**  Dear,"  she  begged,  "  you  won't  ever  be  sorry, 
will  you,  and  —  does  this  sound  selfish,  I  wonder  ?  — 
you  won't  mind  waiting?  " 

He  smiled  down  at  her. 

"  I  shall  never  be  sorry,"  he  declared  firmly.  "  I 
shall  always  bless  this  night  and  the  impulse  that 
brought  you  here.  And  as  to  waiting,"  he  went  on, 
"  well,  I  have  had  four  years  of  waiting  without  any 
particular  hope,  even  of  seeing  you  again.  I  think 
that  with  hope  I  can  hold  out  a  little  longer." 

He  went  over  to  the  telephone  and  spoke  for  a 
few  moments.  Then  he  laid  down  the  receiver  and 
returned. 


146  THE  PROFITEERS 

"A  boy  is  bringing  up  the  key  of  your  room  at 
once,"  he  announced.  "  You  will  be  in  the  south 
block,  a  long  way  off,  but  the  rooms  there  are  com- 
fortable." 

"  Thank  you,  John  dear,"  she  said,  smiling. 

"  Just  one  thing  more,"  he  continued.  "  I  want 
you  to  remember  that  this  miserable,  tangled  skein 
of  unhappiness  which  you  have  called  life  is  finished 
and  done  with.  From  to-night  you  belong  to  me. 
I  must  see  you  to-morrow  —  if  possible  at  Dredlin- 
ton  House  —  and  we  can  work  out  some  plans 
then.  But  you  are  to  worry  about  nothing. 
Remember  that  I  am  here,  and  I  love  you. —  Good 
night!" 

Once  more  she  rested  for  a  moment  in  his  arms. 
The  seconds  sped  by.  Then  he  took  a  quick  step 
backwards,  and  they  both  stared  at  the  door.  It 
was  closed  now,  but  the  slam  of  it  a  moment  before 
had  sounded  like  a  pistol  shot. 

"  Who  was  that  ? "  she  asked  in  a  terrified 
whisper. 

"  That  idiot  of  a  boy  with  the  key,  I  expect,"  he 
replied.  "  Wait,  dear." 

He  hurried  outside,  through  the  little  hall  and 
into  the  corridor.  There  was  no  one  in  sight,  not 
even  the  sound  of  footsteps  to  be  heard.  He  lis- 
tened for  a  moment  and  then  returned. 


THE  PROFITEERS 


"  Who  was  it  ?  "  she  repeated. 
"  Nobody !  " 


"  But  some  one  must  have  looked  in  —  have  seen 
us !  " 

"  It  may  have  been  the  outside  door,"  he  sug- 
gested. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  The  door  was  closed.     I  closed  it  behind  me." 

'*  You  mustn't  worry,  dear,"  he  insisted.  "  In 
all  probability  some  one  did  look  into  the  room  by 
mistake,  but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  they  would 
know  who  we  were.  It  may  have  been  Sparks,  my 
man,  or  the  night  valet,  seeing  a  light  here.  Re- 
member what  I  told  you  a  few  minutes  ago  —  there 
is  no  trouble  now  which  shall  come  near  you." 

She  smiled,  already  reassured. 

"  Of  course,  I  am  rather  absurd,"  she  said,  "  but 
then  look  at  me!  It  is  past  one  o'clock,  and  here 
am  I  in  your  rooms,  with  that  terrible  dressing  case 
on  the  table,  and  without  a  hat,  and  still  looking,  I 
am  afraid,"  she  concluded,  with  a  final  glance  into 
the  glass,  "  a  little  tumbled." 

"  You  look,"  he  told  her  fondly,  "  like  a  girl  who 
has  just  realised  for  the  first  time  in  her  life  that 
she  is  loved." 

"  How  strange,"  she  laughed  happily,  —  "be- 
cause that  is  exactly  how  I  feel ! " 


i48  THE  PROFITEERS 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door.  A  page  en- 
tered, swinging  a  key  in  his  hand. 

"  Key  of  440  for  the  lady,  sir,"  he  announced. 

"  Quite  right,  my  boy.  Listen.  Did  you  meet 
any  one  in  the  corridor?  " 

"  No  one,  sir." 

"  You  haven't  been  in  here  before  without  knock- 
ing, have  you?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  "  I  came 
straight  up  in  the  lift." 

Wingate  turned  to  Josephine  with  a  little  shrug 
of  the  shoulders. 

"  The  mystery,  then,  is  insoluble,"  he  declared 
cheerfully,  "  but  remember  this,  sweetheart,"  he 
added,  as  the  boy  stepped  discreetly  outside,  "  in 
small  things  as  well  as  large,  the  troubles  of  this 
world  for  you  are  ended." 

"  You  don't  know  how  wonderful  it  sounds  to 
hear  words  like  that,"  she  sighed,  as  they  stood 
hand  in  hand.  "  I  shan't  seem  very  selfish,  John, 
shall  I,  if  I  ask  for  a  little  time  to  realise  all  this? 
I  feel  that  everything  I  have  and  am  ought  to  be 
yours  at  this  moment,  because  you  have  made  me 
so  happy,  because  my  heart  is  so  full  of  gratitude. 
But,  alas,  I  have  my  weaknesses !  I  am  a  very  proud 
woman.  Sometimes  I  am  afraid  I  have  been  a  lit- 
tle censorious  —  as  regards  others !  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  149 

He  stooped  and  kissed  her  fingers. 

"  If  you  knew  what  it  felt  like,"  he  whispered, 
as  he  held  open  the  door  for  her,  "  to  have  some- 
thing to  wait  for!  And  whether  you  realise  it  or 
not,  you  are  with  me  —  from  now  on  —  always  — 
my  inspiration  —  my  daily  happiness." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Peter  Phipps,  sitting  in  his  private  office,  might 
have  served  as  the  very  prototype  of  a  genial, 
shrewd  and  successful  business  man.  The  apart- 
ment was  plainly  and  handsomely  furnished.  Al- 
though, only  a  few  yards  away,  was  a  private  ex- 
change and  an  operator  who  controlled  many  pri- 
vate wires,  a  single  telephone  only  stood  upon  his 
desk.  The  documents  which  cumbered  it  were  ar- 
ranged in  methodical  little  heaps.  His  manager 
stood  by  his  side,  with  a  long  slip  of  paper  in  his 
hand.  The  two  men  had  been  studying  it  together. 

"  A  very  excellently  prepared  document,  Harri- 
son," his  employer  declared  graciously,  as  he  leaned 
back  in  his  chair  with  the  tips  of  his  fingers  pressed 
together.  "  Capitally  prepared  and  very  lucid.  A 
good  many  million  bushels,  that.  We  are  creeping 
up,  Harrison  —  creeping  up." 

Mr.  Harrison  bowed  in  recognition  of  his  master's 
words  of  commendation.  He  was  a  worn-looking, 
negative  person,  with  a  waxlike  complexion,  a  fur- 


THE  PROFITEERS  151 

tive  manner,  and  a  marvellous  head  for  the  figures 
with  which  he  juggled. 

"  The  totals  are  enormous,  sir,"  he  admitted, 
"  and  you  may  take  it  that  they  are  absolutely  cor- 
rect. They  represent  our  holdings  as  revised  after 
the  receipt  of  this  morning's  mail.  I  should  like  to 
point  out,  too,  sir,  that  they  have  increased  out  of 
all  proportion  to  outside  shipments,  during  the  last 
four  days." 

Phipps  touched  the  Times  with  his  forefinger. 

"  Did  you  notice,  Harrison,"  he  asked,  "  that  our 
shares  touched  a  hundred  and  eighty  last  night  on 
the  street?" 

"  I  was  advised  of  it,  sir,"  was  the  quiet  reply. 

"  My  fellow  directors  and  I,"  Phipps  continued, 
"  are  highly  gratified  with  the  services  of  our  staff 
during  this  period  of  stress.  You  might  let  them 
know  that  in  the  counting  house.  We  shall  shortly 
take  some  opportunity  of  showing  our  apprecia- 
tion." 

"  You  are  very  kind  indeed,  sir,"  the  manager 
acknowledged,  without  change  of  countenance.  "  I 
am  sorry  to  have  to  report  that  Mr.  Roberts  wishes 
to  leave  us." 

"Roberts?  One  of  our  best  buyers!"  Phipps 
exclaimed.  "Dear  me,  how's  that?  Can't  we 
meet  him,  Harrison?  Is  it  a  matter  of  salary?  " 


152  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  am  afraid  not,  sir." 

"What  then?" 

"  Mr.  Roberts  has  leanings  towards  socialism, 
sir.  He  seems  to  think  that  the  energies  of  our 
company  tend  to  increase  the  distress  which  exists 
in  the  north." 

The  great  man  leaned  back  in  his  chair. 

"  God  bless  my  soul !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  What  on 
earth  has  that  to  do  with  Roberts?  He  isn't  the 
conscience  of  the  firm.  He  draws  a  matter  of  a 
thousand  a  year  for  doing  as  he  is  told." 

"  I  tried  to  argue  with  him  on  those  lines,  sir," 
Harrison  replied.  "  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  found  him 
obdurate." 

"  He  can  be  replaced,  I  suppose  ? "  Phipps 
shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  With  some  difficulty,  sir,"  Harrison  felt  com- 
pelled to  admit.  "  There  is,  as  I  dare  say  you  are 
aware,  sir,  a  certain  feeling  against  us  in  the  various 
Exchanges.  The  best  men  are  warned  against  ac- 
cepting employment  with  us." 

"  We  pay  higher  salaries  than  any  one  else  in  the 
trade." 

"  The  business  methods  of  the  company  towards 
its  employes,"  the  manager  acknowledged,  "  have 
always  been  excellent.  Still,  there  is  a  feeling." 

The  chairman  of  the  B.  &  I.  sighed. 


THE  PROFITEERS  153 

"  We  will  pursue  the  subject  later,  Harrison,"  he 
said.  "  In  the  meantime,  promote  some  one  else  on 
the  staff,  if  necessary.  Do  your  best  to  fill  Rob- 
erts' place  adequately." 

"  Very  good,  sir." 

Dredlinton  lounged  into  the  office  a  few  minutes 
later.  Phipps  welcomed  him  without  any  particular 
enthusiasm,  but  promptly  dismissed  the  typist  to 
whom  he  had  been  dictating. 

"  It  happens  that  you  are  just  the  man  I  want  to 
see,"  he  declared.  "  Sit  down." 

Dredlinton  sank  a  little  wearily  into  an  easy-chair, 
after  a  glance  of  disappointment  at  the  retreating 
figure. 

"  Can't  think  why  you  always  have  such  damned 
ugly  girls  about  you,  Phipps,"  he  yawned.  "  Gives 
me  the  creeps  to  look  at  them." 

Peter  Phipps  smiled  as  he  drew  a  box  of  cigars 
from  his  desk. 

"  Then  I  will  tell  you  the  reason,  my  friend,"  he 
said.  "  For  pleasure  there  is  no  one  who  appreci- 
ates beauty  more  than  I  do.  For  business  I  have  a 
similar  passion  for  efficiency.  The  two  are  never 
confused  in  my  mind." 

"  Regular  paragon,  aren't  you ! "  Dredlinton 
murmured.  "  Why  did  you  want  to  see  me,  by  the 
by?" 


154  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  What  happened  last  night  ?  "  Phipps  asked  a  lit- 
tle abruptly. 

"  I  obeyed  orders,"  Dredlinton  told  him.  "  I 
told  her  ladyship  that  I  should  be  home  to  dinner 
and  probably  bring  some  friends.  I  was  a  little  late 
but  she  waited." 

Phipps  smiled  maliciously. 

"  She  didn't  dine  with  Wingate,  then,  or  go  to  the 
theatre?  " 

"  She  did  not,"  Dredlinton  replied.  "  I  put  the 
kibosh  on  it,  according  to  orders." 

Peter  Phipps  pushed  the  cigars  across  the  desk 
towards  his  companion. 

"  Try  one  of  these  before  you  enter  upon  the 
labours  of  the  day,"  he  invited,  "  and  just  see  what 
you  think  of  these  figures." 

Dredlinton  glanced  at  the  papers  carelessly  at 
first  and  then  with  genuine  interest.  They  were 
certainly  sufficiently  surprising  to  rouse  him  for  a 
moment  from  his  apathy. 

"  Marvellous !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  Marvellous  indeed,"  his  Chief  assented.  "  Now 
listen  to  me,  Dredlinton.  Why  are  you  sitting 
there,  looking  like  a  whipped  dog?  Why  can't  you 
wear  a  more  cheerful  face?  If  it's  Farnham's 
cheque  you  are  worrying  about,  here  it  is,"  he 
added,  drawing  an  oblong  slip  of  paper  from  the 


THE  PROFITEERS  155 

pigeonhole  of  his  desk,  tearing  it  in  two,  and  throw- 
ing it  into  the  waste-paper  basket.  "  A  year  ago, 
you  told  nae  that  the  one  thing  in  the  world  you 
needed  was  money.  Well,  aren't  you  getting  it? 
You  have  only  to  run  straight  with  us  here,  and  to 
work  in  my  interests  in  another  quarter  that  you 
know  of,  and  your  fortune  is  made.  Cheer  up  and 
look  as  though  you  realised  it." 

Dredlinton  crossed  and  uncrossed  his  legs  nerv- 
ously. His  eyes  were  bloodshot  and  his  eyelids 
puffy.  Notwithstanding  careful  grooming,  he  had 
the  air  of  a  man  running  fast  to  seed. 

"  I  am  nervous  this  morning,  Phipps,"  he  con- 
fided. "  Had  a  bad  night.  Every  one  I've  come 
across,  too,  lately,  seems  to  be  cursing  the  B.  &  I." 

"  Let  them  curse,"  was  the  equable  reply.  "  We 
can  afford  to  hear  a  few  harsh  words  when  we  are 
making  money  on  such  a  scale." 

"Yes,  but  how  long  is  it  going  to  last?  "  Dred- 
linton asked  fretfully.  "  Did  you  see  the  questions 
that  were  asked  in  the  House  yesterday  ?  " 

Phipps  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  laughed 
quietly. 

"Questions?  Yes!  Who  cares  about  them? 
Believe  me,  Dredlinton,  our  Government  has  one 
golden  rule.  It  never  interferes  with  private  enter- 
prise. I  don't  know  whether  you  realise  it,  but 


i56  THE  PROFITEERS 

since  the  war  there  is  more  elasticity  about  trading 
methods  than  there  was  before.  The  worst  that 
could  happen  to  us  might  be  that  they  appointed  a 
commission  to  investigate  our  business  methods. 
Well,  they'd  find  it  uncommonly  hard  to  get  at  the 
bottom  of  them,  and  by  the  time  they  were  in  a  posi- 
tion to  make  a  report,  the  whole  thing  would  be 
over." 

"  It's  making  us  damned  unpopular,"  Dredlinton 
grumbled. 

"  For  the  moment,"  the  other  agreed,  "  but  re- 
member this.  There  was  never  such  a  thing  as  an 
unpopular  millionaire  known  in  history,  so  long  as 
he  chose  to  spend  his  money." 

Dredlinton  drew  a  letter  from  his  pocket  and 
handed  it  across  the  table. 

"  Read  that,"  he  invited.  "  It's  the  fifth  I've  had 
within  the  last  two  days." 

Phipps  glanced  at  the  beginning  and  the  end,  and 
threw  it  carelessly  back. 

"  Pooh !  A  threatening  letter !  "  he  exclaimed. 
"Why,  I  had  a  dozen  of  those  this  morning.  My 
secretary  is  making  a  scrapbook  of  them." 

"  That  one  of  mine  seems  pretty  definite,  doesn't 
it?  "  Dredlinton  remarked  nervously. 

"  Some  of  mine  were  uncommonly  plain-spoken," 
Phipps  acknowledged,  "  but  what's  the  odds  ? 


THE  PROFITEERS  157 

You're  not  a  coward,  Dredlinton;  neither  am  I. 
Neither  is  Skinflint  Martin,  nor  Stanley.  Chuck 
letters  like  that  on  the  fire,  as  they  have,  and  keep 
cheerful.  The  streets  of  London  are  the  safest 
place  in  the  world.  No  cable  from  your  friend  in 
New  York  yet?" 

"  Not  a  word,"  Dredlinton  answered.  "  I  ex- 
pected it  last  night.  You  haven't  forgotten  that 
Wingate's  due  here  this  morning  —  that  is,  if  he 
keeps  his  appointment?  " 

"Forgotten  it?  Not  likely!"  Phipps  replied. 
"  I  was  going  to  talk  to  you  about  that.  We  must 
have  those  shares.  The  fact  of  it  is  the  Universal 
Line  has  played  us  false,  the  only  shipping  com- 
pany which  has.  They  promised  to  advise  us  of  all 
proposed  wheat  cargoes,  and  they  haven't  kept  their 
word.  If  my  information  is  correct,  and  I  expect 
confirmation  of  it  at  any  moment  in  the  cable  I 
arranged  to  have  sent  to  you,  they  have  eleven 
steamers  being  loaded  this  very  week.  It's  a  last 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  Liverpool  ring  to  break 
us." 

"What'll  happen  if  Wingate  won't  sell?"  Dred- 
linton enquired. 

"  I  never  face  disagreeable  possibilities  before  the 
necessity  arrives,"  was  the  calm  reply.  "  Wingate 
is  certain  to  sell.  He  won't  have  an  idea  why  we 


158  THE  PROFITEERS 

want  to  buy,  and  I  shall  give  him  twenty  thousand 
pounds  profit." 

"  You'll  find  him  a  difficult  customer,"  Dredlinton 
declared.  "  As  you  know,  he  hates  us  like  poison." 

"  He  may  do  that,"  Phipps  acknowledged.  "  I've 
given  him  cause  to  in  my  life,  and  hope  to  again. 
But  after  all,  he's  a  shrewd  fellow.  He's  made 
money  on  the  Stock  Exchange  this  last  week,  and 
he's  had  the  sense  not  to  run  up  against  us.  He's 
not  likely  to  refuse  a  clear  twenty  thousand  pounds' 
profit  on  some  shares  he's  not  particularly  interested 
in." 

Dredlinton  knocked  the  ash  from  his  cigar.  He 
leaned  over  towards  his  companion. 

"  Look  here,  Phipps,"  he  said,  "  you  can  never 
reckon  exactly  on  what  a  fellow  like  Wingate  will 
do  or  what  he  won't  do.  It  is  just  possible  I  may 
be  able  to  help  in  this  matter." 

"  Good  man!  "  the  other  exclaimed.     "  How?  " 

Dredlinton  hesitated  for  a  moment.  There  was 
a  particularly  ugly  smile  upon  his  lips. 

"  Let  us  put  it  in  this  way,"  he  said.  "  Suppos- 
ing you  fail  altogether  with  Wingate  ?  v 

"Well?" 

"  Supposing  you  then  pass  him  on  to  me  and  I 
succeed  in  getting  him  to  sell  the  shares?  What 
about  it?" 


THE  PROFITEERS  159 

"  It  will  be  worth  a  thousand  pounds  to  you," 
Phipps  declared. 

"  Two ! " 

Phipps  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  I  don't  bargain,"  he  said,  "  but  two  let  it  be  — 
that  is,  of  course,  on  condition  that  I  have  pre- 
viously failed." 

Dredlinton's  dull  eyes  glittered.  The  slight  con- 
traction of  his  lips  did  nothing  to  improve  his  ap- 
pearance. 

"  I  shall  do  my  best,"  he  promised. 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door.  A  clerk  from 
outside  presented  himself.  As  he  held  the  door  for 
a  moment  ajar,  a  wave  of  tangled  sounds  swept  into 
the  room, —  the  metallic  clash  of  a  score  of  type- 
writers, the  shouting  and  bargaining  of  eager  cus- 
tomers, the  tinkle  of  telephones  in  the  long  series 
of  cubicles. 

"  Mr.  Wingate  is  here  to  see  you,  sir,"  the  young 
man  announced. 

"  You  can  show  him  in,"  Peter  Phipps  directed. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Phipps  received  his  visitor  with  a  genial  smile  and 
outstretched  hand. 

"  Delighted  to  see  you,  Mr.  Wingate,"  he  said 
heartily.  "  Take  a  chair,  please.  I  do  not  know 
whether  you  smoke  in  the  mornings,  but  these 
Cabanas,"  he  added,  opening  the  box,  "  are  extra- 
ordinarily mild  and  I  think  quite  pleasant." 

Wingate  refused  both  the  chair  and  the  cigars 
and  appeared  not  to  notice  the  outstretched  hand. 

"  You  will  forgive  my  reminding  you,  Mr. 
Phipps,"  he  remarked  drily,  "  that  my  visit  this 
morning  is  not  one  of  good-will.  I  should  not  be 
here  at  all  except  for  Lord  Dredlinton's  assurance 
that  the  business  on  which  you  desired  to  see  me 
has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  British  and 
Imperial  Granaries." 

"  Nothing  in  the  world,  Mr.  Wingate,"  was  the 
prompt  declaration.  "  We  would  very  much  rather 
receive  you  here  as  a  friend,  but  we  will,  if  you 
choose,  respect  your  prejudices  and  come  to  the 
point  at  once." 


THE  PROFITEERS  161 

"  In  one  moment." 

"  You  have  something  to  say  first?  " 

"  I  have,"  Wingate  replied  gravely.  "  I  should 
not  willingly  have  sought  you  out.  I  do  not,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  consider  that  any  director  of  the 
British  and  Imperial  Granaries  deserves  even  a  word 
of  warning.  But  since  I  am  here,  I  am  going  to 
offer  it." 

"  Of  warning  ?  "  Dredlinton  muttered,  glancing 
up  nervously. 

"  Precisely,"  Wingate  assented.  "  You,  Mr. 
Phipps,  and  Lord  Dredlinton,  and  your  fellow 
directors,  have  inaugurated  and  are  carrying  on  a 
business,  or  enterprise,  whichever  you  choose  to  call 
it,  founded  upon  an  utterly  immoral  and  brutal 
basis.  Your  operations  in  the  course  of  a  few 
months  have  raised  to  a  ridiculous  price  the  staple 
food  of  the  poorer  classes,  at  a  time  when  distress 
and  suffering  are  already  amongst  them.  I  have 
spent  a  considerable  portion  of  my  time  since  I  ar- 
rived in  England  studying  this  matter,  and  this  isl 
the  conclusion  at  which  I  have  arrived." 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Wingate,  one  moment,"  Phipps 
intervened.  "  The  magnitude  of  our  operations  in 
wheat  has  been  immensely  exaggerated.  We  are  net 
abnormally  large  holders.  There  are  a  dozen  firms 
in  the  market,  buying." 


162  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Those  dozen  firms,"  was  the  swift  reply,  "  are 
agents  of  yours." 

"  That  is  a  statement  which  you  cannot  possibly 
substantiate,"  Phipps  declared  irritably.  "  It  is 
simply  Stock  Exchange  gossip." 

"  For  once,  then,"  Wingate  went  on,  "  Stock  Ex- 
change gossip  is  the  truth." 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Wingate,"  Phipps  expostulated, 
"  if  you  will  discuss  this  matter,  I  beg  that  you  will 
do  so  as  a  business  man  and  not  as  a  sentimentalist. 
You  know  perfectly  well  that  as  long  as  the  princi- 
ples of  barter  exist,  there  must  be  a  loser  and  a 
gainer." 

"  The  ordinary  principles  of  barter,"  Wingate 
contended,  "  do  not  apply  to  material  from  which 
the  people's  food  is  made.  I  speak  to  you  as  man  to 
man.  You  have  started  an  enterprise  of  which  I 
and  others  declare  ourselves  the  avowed  enemies.  I 
am  here  to  warn  you,  both  of  you,"  he  added,  in- 
cluding Lord  Dredlinton  with  a  sweep  of  his. hand, 
"  directors  of  the  British  and  Imperial  Granaries, 
that  unless  you  release  and  compel  your  agents  to 
release  such  stocks  of  wheat  as  will  bring  bread 
down  to  a  reasonable  price,  you  stand  in  personal 
danger.  Is  that  clear  enough?  " 

"  Clear  enough,"  Dredlinton  muttered,  "  but  what 
the  mischief  does  it  all  mean  ?  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  163 

"You  threaten  us?"  Phipps  asked  calmly. 

"  I  do  indeed,"  Wingate  assented.  "  I  threaten 
you.  I  threaten  you,  Peter  Phipps,  you,  Lord  Dred- 
linton,  and  I  threaten  your  absent  directors.  I 
came  over  here  prepared  for  something  in  the  nature 
of  a  financial  duel.  I  came  prepared  to  match  my 
millions  and  my  brain  against  yours.  I  find  no  in- 
ducement to  do  so.  The  struggle  is  uninspiring. 
My  efforts  would  only  prolong  it.  Quicker  means 
must  be  found  to  deal  with  you." 

"  You  are  misled  as  to  your  facts,  Mr.  Wingate," 
Phipps  expostulated.  "  I  can  assure  you  that  we 
are  conducting  a  perfectly  legitimate  undertak- 
ing. We  have  kept  all  the  time  well  within  the 
law." 

"  You  may  be  within  the  law  of  the  moment,"  was 
the  stern  reply,  "  but  morally  you  are  worse  than 
the  most  outrageous  bucket-shop  keepers  of  Wall 
Street.  Legislation  may  be  slow  and  Parliament 
hampered  by  precedent,  but  the  people  have  never 
wanted  champions  when  they  have  a  righteous  cause. 
I  tell  you  that  you  cannot  carry  this  thing  through. 
Better  disgorge  your  profits  and  sell  while  you  have 
a  chance." 

Dredlinton  tapped  a  cigarette  against  his  desk 
and  lit  it. 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  he  said,  "  you  really  ought  to 


164  THE  PROFITEERS 

go  into  Parliament.  Such  eloquence  is  rather 
wasted  in  a  City  office." 

"  I  rather  imagined  that  it  would  be,"  Wingate 
assented.  "  At  the  same  time,  I  warned  you  that 
if  I  came  I  should  speak  my  mind." 

Phipps  did  his  best  for  peace.  This  was  his 
enemy  with  whom  he  was  now  face  to  face,  but  the 
final  issue  was  not  yet.  He  spoke  suavely  and  per- 
suasively. 

"  Come,  come,"  he  said,  "  Wingate,  you  have 
changed  since  you  and  I  fought  our  battles  in  New 
York  and  Chicago.  To-day  you  seem  to  be  repre- 
senting a  very  worthy  but  misguided  class  of  the 
community  —  the  sentimentalists.  They  are  in- 
variably trying  to  alter  by  legislation  conditions 
which  are  automatic.  It  is  true  that  our  operations 
over  here  may  temporarily  make  bread  dearer,  but 
on  the  other  hand  we  may  be  facing  the  other  way 
within  a  month.  We  may  be  sellers  of  wheat,  and 
the  loaf  then  will  be  cheaper  than  it  ever  has  been. 
I  am  an  Englishman,  and  it  is  not  my  desire  to  add 
to  the  sufferings  of  my  fellow  countrymen." 

"  You  don't  care  a  damn  about  any  one's  suffer- 
ings," Wingate  retorted,  "  so  long  as  you  can  make 
money  out  of  them." 

Phipps  for  once  looked  a  little  taken  aback. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  he  protested,  "  your  trans-Atlan- 


THE  PROFITEERS  165 

tic  bluntness  is  somewhat  disconcerting.  However, 
you  must  admit  that  we  have  heard  you  patiently. 
Let  us  now,  if  you  are  willing,  discuss  for  a  minute 
or  two  the  real  object  of  your  visit." 

"  I  have  delivered  my  warning,"  Wingate  re- 
marked. "  I  am  only  sorry  that  you  will  not  take 
me  more  seriously.  I  am  now  at  your  service." 

"  In  plain  words,  then,  I  want  to  purchase  your 
holding  in  the  Universal  Steamship  Company,  a 
holding  amounting,  I  believe,  to  one  million,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars." 

Wingate  effectually  concealed  a  genuine  surprise. 

"  You  seem  remarkably  well  informed  as  to  my 
investments,"  he  observed. 

"  Not  as  to  your  investments  generally,"  Phipps 
replied,  "  but  as  to  your  holding  of  Universal  stock. 
In  this  stock  it  is  my  desire  to  secure  a  controlling 
interest." 

"Why?" 

Phipps  hesitated  for  a  moment.  Then  he  replied 
with  much  apparent  frankness. 

"  I  could  invent  a  dozen  reasons.  I  prefer  to  tell 
you  the  truth  and  to  base  my  offer  upon  existing 
conditions." 

"  The  truth  will  be  very  interesting,"  Wingate 
murmured,  with  a  note  of  faint  sarcasm  in  his  tone. 

"  Here  are  my  cards,  then,  laid  upon  the  table," 


166  THE  PROFITEERS 

Phipps  continued,  rapping  the  place  in  front  of 
him  with  the  back  of  his  hand.  "  An  Asiatic  Power 
has  offered  me  an  immense  commission  if  I  can  ar- 
range the  sale  to  them  of  the  Atlantic  fleet  of  the 
Universal  Line." 

"  For  what  purpose?  " 

"  Trading  purposes  between  Japan  and  China," 
Phipps  explained.  "  The  quickest  way  of  bringing 
about  the  sale  and  earning  my  commission  is  for  me 
to  acquire  a  controlling  interest  in  the  company. 
I  have  already  a  certain  number  of  shares.  The 
possession  of  yours  will  give  me  control.  The 
shares  to-day  stand  at  a  dollar  and  an  eighth. 
That  would  make  your  holding,  Mr.  Wingate,  worth, 
say,  one  million,  four  hundred  thousand  dollars.  I 
am  going  to  offer  you  a  premium  on  the  top  of  that, 
say  one  million,  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  at  to- 
day's rate  of  exchange." 

"  For  trading  purposes  between  Japan  and 
China,"  Wingate  reflected. 

"  That  is  the  scheme,"  Phipps  assented. 

Wingate  indulged  in  a  few  moments'  reflection. 
He  had  no  particular  interest  in  the  Universal 
Steamship  Company  —  a  company  trading  between 
San  Francisco  and  Japan  —  and  from  all  that  he 
could  remember  of  their  position  and  prospects,  the 
price  was  a  generous  one.  Nevertheless,  he  was 


THE  PROFITEERS  167 

conscious  of  a  curious  disinclination  to  part  with 
his  shares.  The  very  fact  that  he  knew  he  was  be- 
ing watched  with  a  certain  amount  of  anxiety 
stiffened  his  impulse  to  retain  them. 

"  A  very  fair  offer,  Mr.  Phipps,  I  have  no  doubt,** 
he  said  at  last.  "  On  the  other  hand,  I  am  not  a 
seller." 

"  Not  a  seller  ?     Not  at  a  quarter  premium  ?  " 

"  Nor  a  half,"  Wingate  replied,  "  nor,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  a  hundred  per  cent,  premium.  You  see,  I 
don't  trust  you,  Phipps.  You  may  have  told  me 
the  truth.  You  may  not.  I  shall  hold  my  shares 
for  the  present." 

"  Mr.  Wingate,"  Phipps  exclaimed  incredulously, 
"  you  astonish  me !  " 

"  Very  likely,"  was  the  unconcerned  reply.  "  I 
won't  say  that  I  may  not  change  my  mind  a  little 
later  on,  if  you  are  still  a  buyer.  Before  I  did  any- 
thing, however,  I  should  have  a  few  enquiries  to 
make.  If  this  concludes  our  business,  Mr. 
Phipps  —  " 

Dredlinton  waved  a  nervous  hand  towards  him. 

"  One  moment,  please,"  he  begged.  "  I  have  just 
a  few  words  to  say  to  Mr.  Wingate." 

The  latter  glanced  at  the  clock. 

"  I  hope  you  will  say  them  as  quickly  as  possible," 
he  enjoined.  "  I  have  a  busy  morning." 


i68  THE  PROFITEERS 

Dredlinton  leaned  over  Phipps'  chair.  There 
was  a  sinister  meaning  in  his  hoarse  whisper. 

"  Leave  me  alone  with  him  for  a  moment,"  he 
suggested.  "  Perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  earn  that 
two  thousand  pounds." 

Phipps  rose  at  once  from  his  chair  and  made  his 
way  towards  the  door. 

"  Lord  Dredlinton  wishes  to  have  a  word  with 
you,  Mr.  Wingate,"  he  said.  "  I  shall  be  on  the 
premises,  in  case  by  any  fortunate  chance  you 
.should  decide  to  change  your  mind." 


CHAPTER  XV 

Dredlinton  sank  into  Phipps'  vacated  chair  and 
leaned  back  with  his  hands  in  his  trousers  pockets. 
He  had  the  air  of  a  man  fortified  by  a  certain  amount 
of  bravado, —  stimulated  by  some  evil  purpose. 

"  So  you  don't  want  to  sell  those  shares,  Mr. 
Wingate?  " 

"  I  have  decided  not  to,"  was  the  calm  reply. 
"  Any  particular  reason  ?  " 

"  None,"  Wingate  acknowledged,  "  except  that  I 
am  not  very  anxious  to  have  any  business  relations 
with  Mr.  Phipps." 

"And  for  the  sake  of  that  prejudice,"  Dredlin- 
ton observed,  "  you  can  afford  to  refuse  such  a 
profit  as  he  offered  you?  " 

"  I  have  other  reasons  for  not  wishing  to  sell," 
Wingate  declared.     "  I  have  a  very  high  opinion  of 
Mr.   Phipps'  judgment  as   a  business  man.     If  the 
shares  are  worth  so  much  as  that  to  him,  they  are 
probably  worth  the  same  amount  for  me  to  keep." 
Lord  Dredlinton  shook  his  head. 
"  Quite    a    fallacy,    Wingate,"    he    pronounced. 


i7o  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Phipps,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  offering  you  con- 
siderably more  than  the  shares  are  worth,  because 
with  their  help  he  means  to  bring  off  a  big  thing." 

"  If  he  relies  upon  my  shares,"  was  the  indiffer- 
ent reply,  "  I  am  afraid  the  big  thing  won't  come 
off." 

"You  won't  sell,  then?" 

"No!" 

Lord  Dredlinton  glanced  for  a  moment  at  his 
finger  nails.  He  seemed  wrapped  in  abstract 
thought. 

"  I  wonder  if  I  could  induce  you  to  change  your 
mind,"  he  said. 

"  I  am  quite  sure  that  you  could  not." 

"  Still,  I  am  going  to  try.  You  are  a  great  ad- 
mirer of  my  wife,  I  believe,  Mr.  Wingate  ?  " 

Wingate  frowned  slightly. 

"  I  prefer  not  to  discuss  Lady  Dredlinton  with 
you,"  he  said  curtly. 

"  Still,  you  won't  mind  going  so  far  as  to  say 
that  you  are  an  admirer  of  hers  ?  "  the  latter  per- 
sisted. 

"Well?" 

"  You  are  probably  her  confidant  in  the  unfortu- 
nate differences  which  have  arisen  between  us  ?  " 

"  If  I  were,  I  should  not  consider  it  my  business 
to  inform  you." 


THE  PROFITEERS  171 

"Your  sympathy  is  without  doubt  on  her  side?" 

Wingate  changed  his  attitude. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said,  "  this  subject  is  not  of  my 
choosing.  I  should  have  preferred  to  avoid  it. 
Since  you  press  me,  however,  I  haven't  the  faintest 
hesitation  in  saying  that  I  look  upon  your  wife  as 
one  of  the  sweetest  and  best  women  I  ever  knew, 
married,  unfortunately,  to  a  person  utterly  un- 
worthy of  her." 

Dredlinton  started  in  his  place.  A  little  streak 
of  colour  flushed  up  to  his  eyes. 

"  What  the  devil  do  you  mean  by  that?  " 

"  Look  here,"  Wingate  expostulated,  "  you  can't 
threaten  me,  Dredlinton.  You  asked  for  what  you 
got.  Why  not  save  time  and  explain  why  you  have 
dragged  your  wife's  name  into  this  business  ?  " 

Dredlinton,  in  his  peculiar  way,  was  angry.  His 
speech  was  a  little  broken,  his  eyes  glittered. 

"  Explain  ?  My  God,  I  will !  You  are  one  of 
those  damned  frauds,  Wingate,  who  pose  as  a  purist 
and  don't  hesitate  to  make  capital  out  of  the  harm- 
less differences  which  sometimes  arise  between  hus- 
band and  wife.  You  sympathise  with  Lady  Dred- 
linton, eh?" 

"  I  should  sympathise  with  any  woman  who  was 
your  wife,"  Wingate  assured  him,  his  own  temper 
rising. 


i72  THE  PROFITEERS 

Dredlinton  leaned  a  little  forward.  He  spoke 
with  a  vicious  distinctness. 

"  You  sympathise  with  her  to  such  an  extent  that 
you  lure  her  to  your  rooms  at  midnight  and  send  her 
back  when  you've  — " 

Dredlinton's  courage  oozed  out  before  he  had 
finished  his  speech.  Wingate  had  swung  around  to- 
wards his  companion,  and  there  was  something  ter- 
rifying in  his  attitude. 

"  You  scoundrel !  "  he  exclaimed. 

Dredlinton  drew  a  little  farther  back  and  kept 
his  finger  upon  the  bell. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said  viciously,  "  you  may  as 
well  drop  those  heroics.  I  am  not  talking  at  ran- 
dom. My  wife  was  seen  in  your  arms,  in  your  rooms 
at  the  Milan  Court,  with  her  dressing  case  on  the 
table,  last  night,  by  little  Flossie  Lane,  your  latest 
conquest  in  the  musical  comedy  world.  She  spent 
the  night  at  the  Milan." 

"  It's  a  lie ! "  Wingate  declared,  with  cold  fury. 
"  How  the  devil  could  Flossie  Lane  see  anything  of 
the  sort?  She  was  nowhere  near  my  rooms." 

"  Oh,  yes,  she  was ! "  Dredlinton  assured  him. 
*'  She  just  looked  in  —  one  look  was  quite  enough. 
Didn't  you  hear  the  door  slam  ?  " 

"  My  God !  "  Wingate  muttered,  with  a  sudden 
instinct  of  recollection. 


THE  PROFITEERS  173 

"  Perhaps  you  wonder  why  she  came?  "  the  other 
continued.  "  I  will  tell  you.  I  followed  my  wife 
to  the  Milan  —  I  thought  it  might  be  worth  while. 
I  saw  her  enter  the  lift  and  come  up  to  your  room. 
While  I  was  hesitating  as  to  what  to  do,  I  met 
Flossie.  Devilish  clever  idea  of  mine !  I  determined 
to  kill  two  birds  with  one  stone.  I  told  her  you'd 
been  enquiring  for  her  —  that  you  were  alone  in 
your  rooms  and  would  like  to  see  her.  She  went  up 
like  a  two-year-old.  Jove,  you  ought  tc  have  seen 
her  face  when  she  came  down !  " 

"  You  cad !  "  Wingate  exclaimed.  "  Your  wife 
simply  came  to  beg  my  intervention  with  the  man- 
agement to  secure  her  a  room  in  the  — 

"  Chuck  it !  "  Dredlinton  interrupted.  "  You're  a 
man  of  the  world.  You  know  very  well  that  I  can 
get  a  divorce,  and  I'm  going  to  have  it  —  if  I  want 
it.  I  am  meeting  Flossie  Lane  at  midday  at  my  so- 
licitor's. What  have  you  got  to  say  about  that?" 

"  That  if  you  keep  your  word  it  will  be  a  very 
happy  release  for  your  wife,"  Wingate  replied 
drily.' 

Dredlinton  leaned  across  the  desk.  There  was  an 
almost  satyrlike  grin  upon  his  face. 

"  You  are  a  fool,"  he  said.  "  My  wife  wants  to 
get  rid  of  me  —  you  and  she  have  talked  that  over, 
I  have  no  doubt  —  but  not  this  way.  She  is  a  proud 


174  THE  PROFITEERS 

woman,  Wingate.  The  one  desire  of  her  life  is  to 
be  free,  but  you  can  take  this  from  me  —  if  I  bring 
my  suit  and  gain  my  decree  on  the  evidence  I  shall 
put  before  the  court  —  don't  forget  Flossie  Lane, 
will  you  ?  —  she'll  never  raise  her  head  again. 
That  is  what  I  am  going  to  do,  unless  —  " 

He  paused. 

"  Unless  what  ?  "  Wingate  demanded. 

"  Unless  you  sell  those  shares  to  Peter  Phipps." 

Wingate  was  silent  for  a  few  moments.  He 
studied  his  companion  appraisingly. 

"  Dredlinton,"  he  said  at  last,  "  I  did  you  an  in- 
justice." 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  are  beginning  to  appreciate 
the  fact,"  the  other  replied,  with  some  dignity.  "  I 
welcome  your  confession." 

"  I  looked  upon  you,"  Wingate  continued,  "  as 
only  an  ordinary,  weak  sort  of  scoundrel.  I  find 
you  one  of  the  filthiest  blackguards  who  ever  crawled 
upon  the  earth." 

Dredlinton  scowled  for  a  moment  and  then  laughed 
in  a  hard,  unnatural  sort  of  way. 

"  I  can't  lose  my  temper  with  yon,  Wingate  — 
upon  my  word,  I  can't.  You  are  so  delightfully 
crude  and  refreshing.  Your  style,  however,  is  a 
little  more  suited  to  your  own  country,  don't  you 
think  —  the  Far  West  and  that  sort  of  thing. 


THE  PROFITEERS  175 

Shall  I  draft  a  little  agreement  that  you  will  sell 
the  shares  to  Phipps?  Just  a  line  or  two  will  be 
sufficient." 

Wingate  made  no  reply.  He  walked  across  to 
the  frosted  window  and  gazed  out  of  the  upper  panes 
up  to  the  sky.  Presently  he  returned. 

"  Where  is  your  wife  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  She  telephoned  from  the  Milan  this  morning, 
discovered  that  the  young  lady  to  whom  she  had 
such  unfounded  objections  had  left,  and  returned  in 
a  taxi  just  before  I  started  for  the  office." 

"  Supposing  I  sell  these  shares?  " 

"  Then,"  Dredlinton  promised,  "  I  shall  endeavour 
to  forget  the  incident  of  last  night.  Further  than 
that,  I  might  indeed  be  tempted,  if  it  were  made 
worth  my  while,  to  provide  my  wife  with  a  more 
honourable  mode  of  escape." 

"  You're  wonderful,"  Wingate  declared,  nodding 
his  head  quickly.  "  What  are  you  going  to  get  for 
blackmailing  me  into  selling  those  shares?" 

"  Two  thousand  pounds." 

"  Get  along  and  earn  it,  then." 

Dredlinton  wrote  in  silence  for  several  moments. 
Then  he  read  the  document  over  to  himself. 

"  '  I,  John  Wingate  —  all  my  shares  in  the  Uni- 
versal Steamship  Company,  and  accept  herewith  as 
a  deposit.'  There,  Mr.  Wingate,  I  think  you  will 


176  THE  PROFITEERS 

find  that  correct.  Phipps  shall  write  you  a  cheque 
immediately." 

He  touched  the  bell.  Phipps  entered  almost  at 
the  same  moment. 

"  I  am  pleased  to  tell  you,"  Dredlinton  announced, 
"  that  I  have  induced  Mr.  Wingate  to  see  reason. 
He  will  sell  the  shares." 

"  My  congratulations ! "  Phipps  ventured,  with  a 
broad  smile.  "  Mr.  Wingate  has  made  a  most  wise 
and  acceptable  decision." 

"  Will  you  make  out  a  cheque  for  ten  thousand 
pounds  as  a  deposit?  "  Dredlinton  continued.  "  Mr. 
Wingate  will  then  sign  the  agreement  I  have  drawn 
up  on  the  lines  of  the  memorandum  you  left  on  the 
desk." 

"  With  pleasure,"  was  the  brisk  reply. 

Wingate  took  up  a  pen,  glanced  through  the 
agreement,  and  was  on  the  point  of  signing  his  name 
when  a  startled  exclamation  from  the  man  by  his 
side  caused  him  to  glance  up.  The  door  had  been 
opened.  Harrison  was  standing  there,  looking  a 
little  worried.  His  tone  was  almost  apologetic. 

"  The  Countess  of  Dredlinton,"  he  announced. 

The  arrival  of  Josephine  affected  very  differently 
the  three  men,  to  whom  her  coming  was  equally  sur- 
prising. Her  husband,  after  an  exclamation  which 
savoured  of  profanity,  stared  at  her  with  a  doubtful 


THE  PROFITEERS  177 

and  malicious  frown  upon  his  forehead.  With  Win- 
gate  she  exchanged  one  swift  glance  of  mutual  un- 
derstanding. Phipps,  after  his  first  start  of  sur- 
prise, welcomed  her  with  the  utmost  respect  and  cor- 
diality. 

"  My  dear  Lady  Dredlinton,"  he  declared,  "  this 
is  charming  of  you !  I  had  really  given  up  hoping 
that  you  would  ever  honour  us  with  your  pres- 
ence." 

"  You  can  chuck  all  that,  Phipps,"  Dredlinton 
interrupted  curtly.  "  My  wife  hasn't  come  here  to 
bandy  civilities.  What  do  you  want,  madam?  "  he 
demanded,  moving  a  step  nearer  to  her. 

She  held  a  slip  of  paper  in  her  hand  and  unfolded 
it  before  their  eyes. 

"  My  husband,"  she  said,  "  has  justly  surmised 
that  I  have  not  come  here  in  any  spirit  of  friendli- 
ness. I  have  come  to  let  Mr.  Wingate  know  the  con- 
tents of  this  cable,  which  arrived  soon  after  my  hus- 
band left  the  house  this  morning.  The  message  was 
in  code,  but,  as  Mr.  Wingate's  name  appeared,  I 
have  taken  the  trouble  to  transcribe  it." 

"  That's  more  than  you  could  do,  my  lady,"  Dred- 
linton snarled. 

"  I  can  assure  you  that  you  are  mistaken,"  was 
the  calm  reply.  "  You  forget  that  you  were  not 
quite  yourself  last  night,  and  that  you  left  the  B.  & 


178  THE  PROFITEERS 

I.  code  book  on  the  study  table.  Please  listen,  Mr. 
Wingate." 

All  the  apparent  good  humour  had  faded  from 
Phipps'  face.  He  struck  the  table  with  his  fist. 

"  Dredlinton,"  he  insisted,  "  you  must  use  your 
authority.  That  message  is  a  private  one.  It 
must  not  be  read." 

Wingate  moved  to  Josephine's  side. 

"  Must  not?  "  he  repeated  under  his  breath. 

"  It  is  a  private  message  from  a  correspondent  in 
New  York,  who  is  a  personal  friend  of  Lord  Dred- 
linton's,"  Phipps  declared.  "  It  is  of  no  concern  to 
any  one  except  ourselves.  Dredlinton,  you  must 
make  your  wife  understand  —  " 

"  Understand?  "  Dredlinton  broke  in.  "  Give  me 
that  message,  madam." 

He  snatched  at  it.  Wingate  leaned  over  and 
swung  him  on  one  side.  For  a  single  moment 
Phipps,  too,  seemed  about  to  attempt  force.  Then, 
with  an  ugly  little  laugh,  he  recovered  himself. 

"  My  dear  Lady  Dredlinton,  let  me  reason  with 
you,"  he  begged.  "  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Wingate 
is  in  opposition  to  our  interests,  your  husband's  and 
mine.  You  cannot  —  " 

"  Let  Lady  Dredlinton  read  the  cable,"  Wingate 
interposed. 

It  was  done  before  any  further  interference  was 


THE  PROFITEERS  179 

possible.  Wingate  stood  at  her  side,  grim  and 
threatening.  The  words  had  left  her  lips  be- 
fore either  of  the  other  men  could  shout  her 
down. 

"  It  is  a  night  message  from  New  York,"  she 
said.  "  Listen :  *  Confirm  eleven  steamers  Uni- 
versal Line  withdrawn  Japan  trade  loading  secretly 
huge  wheat  cargo  for  Liverpool.  Confirm  John 
Wingate,  Milan  Court,  holds  controlling  influence, 
Advise  buy  his  shares  any  price.'  " 

There  was  a  moment's  intense  silence.  Dredlin- 
ton  opened  his  lips  and  closed  them  again.  Phipps 
was  exhibiting  remarkable  self-control.  His  tone,  as 
he  addressed  Wingate,  was  grave  but  almost  natural. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  do  you  wish  to  re- 
pudiate your  bargain?"  he  asked.  "We  must  at 
least  know  where  we  are." 

Wingate  turned  to  Josephine. 

"  The  matter,"  he  decided,  "  is  not  in  my  hands. 
Lady  Dredlinton,"  he  went  on,  "  the  person  who 
opened  the  door  of  my  sitting  room  last  night  was 
Miss  Flossie  Lane,  a  musical  comedy  actress  sent 
there  by  your  husband,  who  had  followed  you  to  the 
Milan.  Your  husband  imagines  that  because  you 
were  in  my  apartments  at  such  an  unusual  hour,  he 
has  cause  for  a  divorce.  That  I  do  not  believe,  but, 
to  save  proceedings  which  might  be  distasteful  to 


i8o  THE  PROFITEERS 

you,  I  was  prepared  to  sell  Mr.  Phipps  my  shares  in 
the  Universal  Line,  imagining  it  to  be  an  ordinary 
business  transaction.  The  cable  which  you  have 
just  read  has  revealed  the  true  reason  why  Phipps 
desires  to  acquire  those  shares.  The  arrival  of 
that  wheat  will  force  down  prices,  for  a  time,  at  any 
rate.  It  may  even  drive  this  accursed  company  into 
seeking  some  other  field  of  speculation.  What  shall 
I  do?" 

She  smiled  at  him  over  her  husband's  head.  She 
did  not  hesitate  even  for  a  second.  Her  tone  was 
proud  and  insistent. 

"  You  must  of  course  keep  your  shares,"  she  de- 
clared. "  As  regards  the  other  matter,  my  husband 
can  do  as  he  thinks  well." 

Wingate's  eyes  flashed  his  thanks.  He  drew  a 
little  sigh  of  relief  and  deliberately  tore  in  halves  the 
agreement  which  he  had  been  holding.  Dredlinton 
leaned  over  the  desk,  snatched  at  the  telephone  re- 
ceiver, threw  himself  into  his  chair,  and  glared  first 
at  Wingate  and  then  at  his  wife. 

"My  God,  then,"  he  exclaimed  furiously,  "I'll 
keep  my  word !  —  May  fair  67. —  I'll  drag  you 
through  the  dust,  my  lady,"  he  went  on.  "  You 
shall  be  the  heroine  of  one  of  those  squalid  divorce 
cases  you've  spoken  of  so  scornfully.  You  shall 
crawl  through  life  a  divorcee,  made  an  honest  woman 


THE  PROFITEERS  181 

through    the    generosity    of    an    American    adven- 
turer !  —  67,  Mayf air,  I  said." 

Phipps  shook  his  head  sorrowfully. 

"  My  friend,"  he  said,  "  this  is  useless  bluster. 
Put  down  the  telephone.  Let  us  talk  the  matter  out 
squarely.  Your  methods  are  a  little  too  melodra- 
matic." 

"Go  to  hell!"  Dredlinton  shouted.  "You  are 
too  much  out  for  compromises,  Phipps.  There,  are 
times  when  one  must  strike. —  Exchange !  I  say, 
Exchange !  Why  the  devil  can't  you  give  me  May- 
fair  67?  — What's  that?  — An  urgent  call?- 
Well,  go  on,  then.  Out  with  it. —  Who's  speaking? 
Mr.  Stanley  Rees'  servant?  —  Yes,  yes!  I'm  Lord 
Dredlinton.  Get  on  with  it." 

There  was  a  moment  of  intense  silence.  Dredlin- 
ton was  listening,  indifferently  at  first,  then  as 
though  spellbound,  his  lips  a  little  parted,  his  cheeks 
colourless,  his  eyes  filled  with  a  strange  terror. 
Presently  he  laid  down  the  receiver,  although  he 
failed  to  replace  it.  He  turned  very  slowly  around, 
and  his  eyes,  still  filled  with  a  haunting  fear,  sought 
Wingate's. 

"  Stanley  has  disappeared !  "  he  gasped.  "  He 
had  one  of  those  letters  last  night.  It  lies  on  his 
table  now,  his  servant  says.  There  was  a  noise  in 
his  room  at  four  o'clock  this  morning.  When  they 


182  THE  PROFITEERS 

called  him  —  he  had  gone!  No  one  has  seen  or 
heard  of  him  since !  " 

"  Stanley  disappeared? "  Phipps  repeated  in  a 
dazed  tone. 

"  There's  been  foul  play ! "  Dredlinton  cried 
hoarsely.  "  His  servant  is  sure  of  it !  " 

Wingate  picked  up  his  hat  and  stick  and  moved 
towards  the  door.  From  the  threshold  he  looked 
back,  waiting  whilst  Josephine  joined  him. 

"  Youth,"  he  said  calmly,  "  must  be  served. 
Stanley  Rees  was,  I  believe,  the  youngest  director  on 
the  Board  of  the  British  and  Imperial  Granaries. 
Now,  if  you  like,  Mr.  Phipps,  I'll  come  on  to  your 
market.  I'm  a  seller  of  a  hundred  thousand  bushels 
of  wheat  at  to-day's  price." 

"  Go  to  hell ! "  Phipps  shouted,  his  face  black 
with  rage. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Roger  Kendrick  was  in  and  disengaged  when 
Wingate  called  upon  him,  a  few  minutes  later.  He 
welcomed  his  visitor  cordially. 

"  That  was  a  pretty  good  list  you  gave  me  the 
other  day,  Wingate,"  he  remarked.  "  You've  made 
money.  You're  making  it  still." 

"  Good !  "  Wingate  commented,  with  a  nod  of  sat- 
isfaction. "  I  dare  say  I  shall  need  it  all.  Close 
up  everything,  Kendrick." 

"  The  devil !  One  or  two  of  your  things  are  go- 
ing strong,  you  know." 

"  Take  profits  and  close  up,"  Wingate  directed. 
"  I've  another  commission  for  you." 

"  One  moment,  then." 

Kendrick  hurried  into  the  outer  office  and  gave 
some  brief  instructions.  His  client  picked  up  the 
tape  and  studied  it  until  his  return. 

"How  are  things  in  the  House?"  Wingate  en- 
quired, as  he  resumed  his  seat. 

"  Uneasy,"  Kendrick  replied.  "  B.  &  I.'s  are  the 
chief  feature.  They  show  signs  of  weakness,  owing 


184  THE  PROFITEERS 

to   the   questions   in   the  House  of   Commons   last 
night." 

Tm  a  bear  on  B.  &  L's,"  Wingate  declared. 
"  What  are  they  to-day?  n 

M  They  opened  at  fire  and  a  quarter.  Half-an- 
hour  ago  they  were  being  offered  at  fire  and  an 
eighth." 

M  Very  weD,"  Wingate  replied,  «  selL" 

**  How  many?" 

44  No  limit-     Simply  sett." 

The  broker  was  a  little  startled. 

44  Do  you  know  anything?  **  he  asked. 

"  Nothing  definite.  Fre  been  studying  their 
methods  for  some  time.  What  they've  been  trying 
to  do  practically  is  to  corner  wheat.  No  one  has 
ever  succeeded  in  doing  it  yet.  I  don't  think  they 
wilL  My  belief  is  that  they  are  coming  to  the  end 
of  their  tether,  and  there  is  still  a  large  shipment  of 
wheat  which  will  be  afloat  next  week.** 

Kendrick  answered  an  enquiry  through  the  tele- 
phone and  leaned  back  in  his  chair. 

"  Wingate,"  he  said,  "  I'm  not  sure  that  I  actually 
agree  with  you  about  the  B.  &  I.  They  hare  a  won- 
derful system  of  subsidiary  companies,  and  their 
holdings  of  wheat  throughout  the  country  are 
enormous, —  all  bought,  mind  you,  at  much  below 
to-day's  price.  If  they  were  to  realise  to-day, 


THE  PROFITEERS  185 

they'd  realise  an  enormous  profit.  Personally,  it 
seems  to  me  that  they've  made  their  money  and  they 
can  realise  practically  when  they  like.  The  price  of 
wheat  can't  slump  sufficiently  to  put  them  in  Queer 
Street." 

"  The  price  of  wheat  is  coming  down,  though,  and 
coming  down  within  the  next  ten  days,"  Wingate 
pronounced. 

Kendrick  stretched  out  his  hand  towards  the 
cigarettes  and  passed  the  box  across  to  his 
friend. 

"  Why  do  you  think  so? "  he  asked  bluntly ~ 
"  According  to  accounts,  the  harvests  all  over  the 
world  are  disastrous.  There  is  less  wheat  being- 
shipped  here  than  ever  before  in  the  world's  history^ 
I  can  conceive  that  we  may  have  reached  the  top,  and 
that  the  price  may  decline  a  few  points  from  now 
onwards,  but  even  that  would  make  very  little  dif- 
ference. I  can't  see  the  slightest  chance  of  any 
material  fall  in  wheat." 

"  I  can,"  Wingate  replied.  "  Don't  worry,  Ken. 
Xo  need  to  dash  into  the  business  like  a  Chicago- 
booster.  Just  go  at  it  quietly  but  unwaveringly. 
I  suppose  a  good  many  of  the  B.  &  I.  commissions 
are  still  open,  and  there's  bound  to  be  a  little  buy- 
ing elsewhere,  but  I'm  a  seller  of  wheat,  too,  wher- 
ever there's  any  business  doing.  Wheat's  coming; 


i86  THE  PROFITEERS 

down ;  so  are  the  B.  &  I.  shares.  I'm  not  giving  you 
verbal  orders.  Here's  your  warrant." 

He  drew  a  sheet  of  note  paper  towards  him  and 
wrote  a  few  lines  upon  it.  Kendrick  blotted  and 
laid  a  paper  weight  upon  it. 

"  That's  one  of  the  biggest  things  I've  ever  taken 
on  for  a  client,  Wingate,"  he  said.  "  You  won't 
mind  if  I  venture  upon  one  last  word?  " 

"  Not  I,"  was  the  cheerful  reply.  "  Go  right 
ahead." 

"  You're  sure  that  Phipps  hasn't  drawn  you  into 
this?  He's  a  perfect  devil  for  cunning,  that  man, 
and  he's  simply  been  waiting  for  your  coming.  I 
think  it  was  the  disappointment  of  his  life  when  you 
first  came  down  to  the  City  and  left  him  alone. 
You've  shown  wonderful  restraint,  old  chap.  You're 
sure  you  haven't  been  goaded  into  this?  " 

Wingate  smiled. 

"  Don't  you  worry  about  me,  Ken,"  he  begged. 
"  Of  course,  in  a  manner  of  speaking,  this  is  a  duel 
between  Phipps  and  myself,  and  if  you  were  to  ask 
my  advice  which  to  back,  I  don't  know  that  I  should 
«are  to  take  the  responsibility  of  giving  it.  At  the 
same  time,  I'm  out  to  break  Phipps  and  I  rather 
think  this  time  I'm  going  to  do  it. —  Come  along  to 
the  Milan,  later  on,  and  lunch.  Lady  Amesbury  and 
Sarah  Baldwin  and  a  few  others  are  coming." 


THE  PROFITEERS  187 

"  Lady  Dredlinton,  by  any  chance? "  Kendrick 
asked. 

"  Lady  Dredlinton,  certainly." 

"  I'll  turn  up  soon  after  one.     And,  Wingate." 

"Well?" 

"  Don't  think  I'm  a  croaker,  but  I  know  Peter 
Phipps.  There  isn't  a  man  on  this  earth  I'd  fear 
more  as  an  enemy.  He's  unscrupulous,  untrust- 
worthy, and  an  unflinching  hater.  You  and  he  are 
hard  up  against  one  another,  I  know,  and  I  suppose 
you  realise  that  your  growing  friendship  with  Jo- 
sephine Dredlinton  is  simply  hell  for  him." 

"  I  imagine  you  know  that  his  attentions  to 
her  have  been  entirely  unwelcome,"  Wingate  said 
calmly. 

"  I  will  answer  for  it  that  she  has  never  encour- 
aged him  for  a  moment,"  Kendrick  assented,  "  yet 
Phipps  is  one  of  those  men  who  never  take  *  no  '  for 
an  answer,  who  simply  don't  know  what  it  is  to  de- 
spair of  a  thing.  I've  been  watching  that  menage 
for  the  last  twelve  months,  and  I've  watched  Peter 
Phipps  fighting  his  grim  battle.  I  think  I  was  one 
of  the  party  when  he  first  met  her.  Since  then, 
though  the  fellow  has  any  amount  of  tact,  his  pur- 
suit of  her  must  have  been  a  persecution.  He  put 
Dredlinton  on  the  Board  of  the  B.  &  L,  solely  to  buy 
his  way  into  the  household.  He  sent  him  home  one 


i88  THE  PROFITEERS 

day  in  a  new  car  —  a  present  to  his  wife.  She  has 
never  ridden  in  it  and  she  made  her  husband  return 
it." 

"  I  know,"  Wingate  muttered.  "  I've  heard  a 
little  of  this,  and  seen  it,  too." 

*'  Well,  there  you  are,"  Kendrick  concluded. 
"  You  know  Phipps.  You  know  what  it  must  seem 
like  to  him  to  have  another  man  step  in,  just  as  he 
may  have  been  flattering  himself  that  he  was  gaining 
ground.  He  hated  you  before.  He'd  give  his  soul, 
if  he  had  one,  to  break  you  now." 

"  He'll  do  what  he  can,  Ken,"  said  Wingate,  with 
a,  smile,  as  he  left  the  office,  "  but  you  may  take  it 
that  the  odds  are  a  trifle  on  us. —  Not  later  than 
one-thirty,  then." 

"  There  is  no  doubt,"  he  remarked  a  moment 
later,  as  he  stepped  into  his  car,  where  Josephine 
was  waiting  for  him,  "  that  we  are  at  war." 

She  laughed  quietly.  The  excitement  of  'those 
last  few  minutes  in  the  offices  of  the  British  and  Im- 
perial Granaries  had  acted  like  a  stimulant.  She 
had  lost  entirely  her  tense  and  depressed  air.  The 
colour  of  her  eyes  was  newly  discovered  in  the  light 
that  played  there. 

"  You  couldn't  have  fired  the  first  shot  in 
more  dramatic  fashion,"  she  declared.  "  Even  Mr. 
Phipps  lost  his  nerve  for  a  moment,  and  I  thought 


THE  PROFITEERS  189 

that  Henry  was  going  to  collapse  altogether.  I 
wonder  what  they  are  doing  now." 

"  Ringing  up  Scotland  Yard,  or  on  their  way 
there,  I  should  think,"  Wingate  replied. 

She  shivered  for  a  moment. 

"  You  are  not  afraid  of  the  police,  are  you  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  I  don't  think  we  need  be,"  he  replied  cheer- 
fully, "  unless  we  have  bad  luck.  Of  course,  I  have 
had  professional  advice  as  to  all  the  details.  The 
thing  has  been  thought  out  step  by  step,  almost 
scientifically.  Slate  is  a  marvellous  fellow,  and  I 
think  he  has  gathered  up  every  loose  end.  Makes 
one  realise  how  easy  crime  would  be  if  one  went  into 
it  unflurried  and  with  a  clear  conscience. —  Tell  me, 
by  the  by,  was  it  by  accident  that  you  opened  that 
cable  this  morning?  " 

"  Not  entirely,"  she  confessed.  "  I  was  in  the 
library  this  morning  talking  to  Grant,  my  new 
butler." 

"Satisfactory,  I  trust?"  Wingate  murmured. 

"  A  paragon,"  she  replied,  with  a  little  gleam  in 
her  eyes.  "  Well,  on  Henry's  desk  was  the  rough 
draft  of  a  cable,  torn  into  pieces,  and  on  one  of 
them,  larger  than  the  rest,  I  couldn't  help  seeing 
your  name.  It  looked  as  though  Henry  had  been, 
sending  a  cable  in  which  you  were  somehow  con- 


igo  THE  PROFITEERS 

cerned.  While  I  was  there,  the  reply  came,  so  I 
decided  to  open  and  decode  it.  Directly  I  realised 
what  it  was  about,  I  brought  it  straight  to  the 
office,  hoping  to  catch  you  there." 

"  You  are  a  most  amazing  woman,"  he  declared. 

She  leaned  a  little  towards  him. 

"  And  you  are  a  most  likeable  man,"  she  mur- 
mured. 

Wingate's  luncheon  party  had  been  arranged  for 
some  days,  and  was  being  given,  in  fact,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Lady  Amesbury  herself. 

"  I  am  a  perfectly  shameless  person,"  she  de- 
clared, as  she  took  her  seat  by  Wingate's  side  at 
the  round  table  in  the  middle  of  the  restaurant.  "  I 
invited  myself  to  this  party.  I  always  do.  The 
last  three  times  our  dear  host  has  been  over  to 
England,  as  soon  as  I  have  enquired  after  his  health 
and  his  business,  and  whether  the  right  woman  has 
turned  up  yet,  I  ask  him  when  he's  going  to  take 
me  to  lunch  at  the  Milan.  I  do  love  lunching  in  a 
restaurant,"  she  confided  to  Kendrick,  who  sat  at 
her  other  side,  "  and  nearly  all  my  friends  prefer 
their  stodgy  dining  rooms." 

"  Have  you  heard  the  news,  aunt  ?  "  Sarah  asked 
across  the  table. 

"  About  that  silly  little  Mrs.  Liddiard  Green,  do 


THE  PROFITEERS  191 

you  mean,  and  Jack  Fulton?  I  hear  they  were  seen 
in  Paris  together  last  week." 

"  Pooh !  Who  cares  about  Mrs.  Liddiard 
Green !  "  Sarah  scoffed.  "  I  mean  the  news  about 
Jimmy.  The  dear  boy's  gone  into  the  City." 

"  God  bless  my  soul !  "  Lady  Amesbury  exclaimed. 
"  How  much  has  he  got  to  lose?  " 

"  He  isn't  going  to  lose  anything,"  Sarah  replied. 
"  Mr.  Maurice  White  has  taken  him  into  his  office, 
and  he's  going  to  have  a  commission  on  the  busi- 
ness he  does.  This  is  his  first  morning.  He  must 
be  busy  or  he'd  have  been  here  before  now.  Jimmy's 
never  late  for  meals." 

"  Hm !  "  Lady  Amesbury  grunted.  "  I  expect  he 
has  to  stay  and  mind  the  office  while  Mr.  White  gets 
his  lunch." 

"  Considering,"  Sarah  rejoined  with  dignity, 
"  that  there  are  seventeen  other  clerks,  besides 
office  boys  and  typists,  and  Jimmy  has  a  room  to 
himself,  that  doesn't  seem  likely.  I  expect  he's 
doing  a  big  deal  for  somebody  or  other." 

"  Thank  God  it  isn't  me !  "  her  aunt  declared.  "  I 
love  Jimmy  —  every  one  does  —  but  he  wasn't  born 
for  business." 

"  We  shall  see,"  Sarah  observed.  "  My  own 
opinion  of  Jimmy  is  that  his  mental  gifts  are  gen- 
erally underrated." 


i92  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  You're  not  prejudiced,  by  any  chance,  are 
you  ?  "  Kendrick  asked,  smiling. 

"  That  is  my  dispassionate  opinion,"  Sarah  pro- 
nounced, "  and  I  don't  want  any  peevish  remarks 
from  you,  Roger  Kendrick.  You're  jealous  be- 
cause you  let  Mr.  White  get  in  ahead  of  you  and 
secure  Jimmy.  It  was  only  three  days  ago  that  we 
agreed  he  should  go  into  the  City.  He  was  per- 
fectly sweet  about  it,  too.  He  was  playing  for  the 
M.C.C.  to-morrow,  and  polo  at  Ranelagh  on  Sat- 
urday." 

"  Is  he  giving  them  both  up  ?  "  Kendrick  enquired. 

"  He's  giving  up  the  cricket,  of  course,  unless  he 
finds  that  it  happens  to  be  a  slack  day  in  the  City," 
Sarah  replied.  "  As  for  the  polo,  well,  no  one  works 
on  Saturday  afternoon,  do  they?  " 

"  How  is  my  friend,  Mr.  Peter  Phipps  ?  "  Lady 
Amesbury  demanded.  "  The  big  man  who  looked 
like  a  professional  millionaire?  Is  he  making  a  man 
of  that  bad  husband  of  yours,  Josephine?  " 

"  They  spend  a  good  deal  of  time  together,"  Jo- 
sephine replied.  "  I  don't  think  he'll  ever  succeed 
in  making  a  business  man  out  of  Henry,  though,  any 
more  than  Mr.  White  will  out  of  Jimmy." 

A  familiar  form  approached  the  table.  Sarah 
welcomed  him  with  a  wave  of  her  hand.  The  Hon- 
ourable Jimmy  greeted  Lady  Amesbury  and  his  host, 


THE  PROFITEERS  193 

nodded  to  every  one  else,  and  took  the  vacant  place 
which  had  been  left  for  him.  He  seemed  fatigued. 

"  Can  I  have  a  cocktail,  Mr.  Wingate? "  he 
begged,  summoning  a  waiter.  "  A  double  Martini, 
please.  Big  things  doing  in  the  City,"  he  confided. 

"  Have  you  had  to  work  very  hard,  dear?  "  Sarah 
asked  sympathetically. 

"  Absolutely  feverish  rush  ever  since  I  got  there," 
he  declared.  "  Don't  know  how  long  my  nerves  will 
stand  it.  Telephones  ringing,  men  rushing  out  of 
the  office  without  their  hats,  and  bumping  into  you 
without  saying  '  by  your  leave  '  or  '  beg  your  par- 
don,' or  any  little  civility  of  that  sort,  and  good  old 
Maurice,  with  his  hair  standing  up  on  end,  shout- 
ing into  two  telephones  at  the  same  time,  and  dic- 
tating a  letter  to  one  of  the  peachiest  little  bits  of 
fluff  I've  seen  outside  the  front  rows  for  I  don't 
know  how  long." 

"  Jimmy,"  Sarah  said  sternly,  "  I'm  not  sure  that 
the  City  is  going  to  suit  you.  You  don't  have  to 
dictate  letters  to  her,  do  you?" 

"  No  such  luck,"  Jimmy  sighed.  "  She  is  the 
Chief's  own  particular  property.  Does  a  thousand 
words  a  minute  and  knits  a  jumper  at  the  same 
time." 

"Whom  do  you  dictate  your  letters  to?"  Sarah 
demanded. 


i94  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,"  Jimmy  answered,  fall- 
ing on  his  cocktail,  "  I  haven't  had  any  to  write 

yet." 

"  What  has  your  work  been  ?  "  Lady  Amesbury 
asked. 

"  Kind  of  superintending,"  the  young  man  ex- 
plained, "  looking  on  at  everything  —  getting  the 
hang  of  it,  you  know." 

"  Are  the  other  men  there  nice?  "  Sarah  enquired. 

"  Well,  we  don't  seem  to  have  had  much  time  for 
conversation  yet,"  Jimmy  replied,  attacking  his 
caviare  like  a  man  anxious  to  make  up  for  lost 
time.  "  I  heard  one  chap  tell  another  that  I'd 
come  to  give  tone  to  the  establishment,  which  seemed 
to  me  a  pleasant  and  friendly  way  of  looking  at 
it." 

"  You  didn't  have  any  commissions  yourself? " 
Sarah  went  on. 

"  Well,  not  exactly,"  Jimmy  confessed.  "  About 
half  an  hour  before  I  left,  a  lunatic  with  perspira- 
tion streaming  down  his  face,  and  no  hat,  threw 
himself  into  my  room.  *  I'll  buy  B.  &  I.'s,'  he 
shouted.  *  I'll  buy  B.  &  I.'s ! '  " 

"  What  did  you  «do  ?  "  Wingate  enquired  with  in- 
terest. 

"  I  told  him  I  hadn't  got  any,"  was  -the  injured 
reply.  "  He  went  out  like  a  streak  of  damp  light- 


THE  PROFITEERS  195 

ning.  I  heard  him  kicking  up  an  awful  hullaballoo 
in  the  next  office." 

"  Jimmy,"  Sarah  said  reproachfully,  "  that  might 
have  been  your  first  client.  You  ought  to  have 
made  a  business  of  finding  him  some  B.  & 
I.'s." 

"  There  might  have  been  some  in  a  drawer  or 
somewhere,"  Lady  Amesbury  suggested. 

"  Distinct  lack  of  enterprise,"  Kendrick  put  in. 
"  You  should  have  thrown  yourself  on  the  telephone 
and  asked  me  if  I'd  got  a  few." 

"  Never  thought  of  it,"  Jimmy  confessed.  "  Live 
and  learn.  First  day  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  you 
know.  I  tell  you  what,"  he  went  on,  "  all  the  ex- 
citement and  that  gives  you  an  appetite  for  your 
food." 

The  manager  of  the  restaurant,  on  his  way 
through  the  room,  recognised  Wingate  and  came  to 
pay  his  respects. 

"  Did  you  hear  about  the  little  trouble  over  in 
the  Court,  Mr.  Wingate? "  he  enquired. 

"  No,  I  haven't  heard  anything,"  Wingate  re- 
plied. 

They  all  leaned  a  little  forward.  The  manager 
included  them  in  his  confidence. 

"  The  young  gentleman  you  probably  know,  Mr. 
Wingate,"  he  said, — "has  the  suite  just  underneath 


ig6  THE  PROFITEERS 

yours  —  Mr.  Stanley  Rees,  his  name  is  —  disap- 
peared last  night." 

"Disappeared?"  Lady  Amesbury  repeated. 

"Stanley  Rees?"  Kendrick  exclaimed. 

The  manager  nodded. 

"  A  very  pleasant  young  gentleman,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  wealthy,  too.  He  is  a  nephew  of  Mr. 
Peter  Phipps,  Chairman  of  the  Directors  of  the 
British  and  Imperial  Granaries.  It  seems  he 
dressed  for  dinner,  came  down  to  the  bar  to  have  a 
cocktail,  leaving  his  coat  and  hat  and  scarf  up  in  his 
room,  and  telling  his  valet  that  he  would  return  for 
them  in  ten  minutes.  He  hasn't  been  seen  or  heard 
of  since." 

"  Sounds  like  the  *  Arabian  Nights,'  "  Jimmy  de- 
clared. "  Probably  found  he  was  a  bit  late  for  his 
grub  and  went  on  without  his  coat  and  hat." 

"  What  about  not  coming  back  all  night,  sir  ?  " 
the  manager  asked. 

"  Lads  will  be  lads,"  Jimmy  answered  senten- 
tiously. 

The  manager  showed  an  entire  lack  of  sympathy 
with  his  attitude. 

"  Mr.  Stanley  Rees,"  he  said,  "  is  a  remarkably 
well-conducted,  quiet  young  gentleman,  very  popu- 
lar here  amongst  the  domestics,  and  noted  for  keep- 
ing very  early  hours.  He  was  engaged  to  dine  out 


THE  PROFITEERS  197 

at  Hampstead  with  some  friends,  who  telephoned  for 
him  several  times  during  the  evening.  He  was  also 
supping  here  with  a  gentleman  who  arrived  and 
waited  an  hour  for  him." 

"Was  he  in  good  health?"  Wingate  enquired 
casually. 

"  Excellent,  I  should  say,  sir,"  the  manager  re- 
plied. "  He  was  a  young  gentleman  who  took  re- 
markably good  care  of  himself." 

"  I  know  the  sort,"  Jimmy  said  complacently, 
watching  his  glass  being  filled.  "  A  whisky  and 
soda  when  the  doctor  orders  it,  and  ginger  ale  with 
his  luncheon." 

The  manager  was  called  away.  Kendrick  had  be- 
come thoughtful. 

"  Queer  thing,"  he  remarked,  "  that  young  Rees 
should  have  disappeared  just  as  the  B.  &  I.  have 
become  a  feature  on  'Change.  He  was  Phipps' 
right-hand  man  in  financial  matters." 

"  Disappearances  in  London  seem  a  little  out  of 
date,"  Wingate  remarked,  as  he  scrutinised  the  dish 
which  the  maltre  d'hotel  had  brought  for  his  inspec- 
tion. "  The  missing  person  generally  turns  up  and 
curses  the  scaremongers. —  Lady  Amesbury,  this 
Maryland  chicken  is  one  of  our  favourite  New  York 
dishes.  Kendrick,  have  some  more  wine.  Wilshaw, 
your  appetite  has  soon  flagged." 


ig8  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  All  the  same,"  Kendrick  mused,  "  it's  a  dashed 
queer  thing  about  Stanley  Rees." 

After  his  guests  had  departed,  Wingate  had  a  few 
minutes  alone  with  Josephine. 

"  I  hate  letting  you  go  back  to  that  house,"  he 
admitted. 

She  laughed  softly. 

"  Why,  my  dear,"  she  said,  "  think  how  necessary 
it  is.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  am  absolutely 
looking  forward  to  it.  I  never  thought  that  I 
should  live  to  associate  romance  with  that  ugly, 
brown-stone  building." 

"  If  there's  the  slightest  hitch,  you'll  let  me  hear, 
won't  you  ?  "  he  begged.  "  The  telephone  is  on  to 
my  room,  and  anything  that  happens  unforeseen  — 
remember  this,  Josephine  —  is  a  complete  surprise 
to  you.  Everything  is  arranged  so  that  you  are 
not  implicated  in  any  way." 

"  Pooh !  "  she  scoffed.  "  Nothing  will  happen. 
You  are  invincible,  John.  You  will  conquer  with 
these  men  as  you  have  with  poor  me." 

"  You  have  no  regrets  ?  "  he  asked,  as  they  moved 
through  the  hall  on  the  way  out. 

"  I  regret  nothing,"  she  answered  fervently.  "  I 
never  shall." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Wingate,  after  several  strenuous  hours  spent  in 
Slate's  office,  returned  to  his  rooms  late  that  night, 
to  find  Peter  Phipps  awaiting  him.  There  was 
something  vaguely  threatening  about  the  bulky  fig- 
ure of  the  man  standing  gloomily  upon  the  hearth 
rug,  all  the  spurious  good  nature  gone  from  his 
face,  his  brows  knitted,  his  cheeks  hanging  a  little 
and  unusually  pale.  Wingate  paused  on  the  thresh- 
old of  the  room  and  his  hand  crept  into  his  pocket. 
Phipps  seemed  to  notice  the  gesture  and  shook  his 
head. 

"  Nothing  quite  so  crude,  Wingate,"  he  said.  "  I 
know  an  enemy  when  I  see  one,  but  I  wasn't  thinking 
of  getting  rid  of  you  that  way." 

"  I  have  found  it  necessary,"  Wingate  remarked 
slowly,  "  to  be  prepared  for  all  sorts  of  tricks  when 
I  am  up  against  anybody  as  conscienceless  as  you. 
I  don't  want  you  here,  Phipps.  I  didn't  ask  you  to 
come  and  see  me.  I've  nothing  to  discuss  with  you." 

"  There    are   times,"   Phipps   replied,   "  when   the 


200  THE  PROFITEERS 

issue  which  cannot  be  fought  out  to  the  end  with 
arms  can  be  joined  in  the  council  chamber.  I  have 
come  to  know  your  terms." 

Wingate  shook  his  head. 

"  I  don't  understand.  It  is  too  soon  for  this  sort 
of  thing.  You  are  not  beaten  yet." 

"  I  am  tired,"  his  visitor  muttered.  "  May  I  sit 
down?" 

"  You  are  an  unwelcome  guest,"  Wingate  replied 
coldly,  "  but  sit  if  you  will.  Then  say  what  you 
have  to  say  and  go." 

Phipps  sank  into  an  easy-chair.  It  was  obvious 
that  he  was  telling  the  truth  so  far  as  regarded  his 
fatigue.  He  seemed  to  have  aged  ten  years. 

"  I  have  been  down  below  in  Stanley's  rooms,"  he 
explained,  "  been  through  his  papers.  It's  true 
what  the  inspector  fellow  reports.  There  isn't  a 
scrap  of  evidence  of  any  complication  in  his  life. 
There  isn't  a  shadow  of  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the 
cause  of  his  disappearance." 

"  Indeed !  "  Wingate  murmured. 

"  It's  a  villainous  plot,  engineered  by  you ! " 
Phipps  continued,  his  voice  shaking.  "  I'm  fond  of 
the  boy.  That's  why  I've  come  to  you.  Name  your 
terras." 

Wingate  indulged  in  a  curious  bout  of  silence. 
He  took  a  pipe  from  a  rack,  filled  it  leisurely  with 


THE  PROFITEERS  201 

tobacco,  lit  it  and  smoked  for  several  moments. 
Then  he  turned  towards  his  unwelcome  companion. 

"  I  am  debarred  by  a  promise  made  to  myself,"  he 
said  coldly,  "  from  offering  you  any  form  of  hos- 
pitality. If  you  wish  to  smoke,  I  shall  not  inter- 
fere." 

Phipps  shook  his  head. 

"  I  have  not  smoked  all  the  evening,"  he  con- 
fessed. "  I  cannot.  You  are  right  when  you  say 
that  we  are  not  beaten,  but  I  like  to  look  ahead. 
I  want  to  know  your  terms." 

"  You  are  anxious  about  your  nephew  ?  " 

"  Yes !  " 

"  And  why  do  you  connect  me  with  his  disappear- 
ance? " 

Phipps  gave  a  little  weary  gesture. 

"  I  am  so  sick  of  words,"  he  said. 

"  We  will  argue  the  matter,  then,"  conceded  Win- 
gate,  "  from  your  point  of  view.  Supposing  that 
your  nephew  has  been  abducted  and  is  held  at  the 
present  moment  as  a  hostage.  It  would  be,  without 
doubt,  by  some  person  or  persons  who  resented  the 
brutality,  the  dishonesty,  the  foul  commercial  meth- 
ods of  the  company  with  which  he  was  connected. 
An  amendment  of  those  methods  might  produce  his 
release." 

"And  that  amendment?" 


202  THE  PROFITEERS 

Wingate  picked  up  a  newspaper  and  glanced  at 
it,  pulled  a  heavy  gold  pencil  from  his  chain  and 
made  a  few  calculations. 

"  Your  operations  in  wheat,"  he  said,  "  have 
brought  the  loaf  which  should  cost  the  working  man 
a  matter  of  sevenpence  up  to  two  shillings.  You 
seem  to  have  dabbled  in  a  good  many  other  products, 
too,  the  price  of  which  you  have  forced  up  into  the 
clouds,  —  just  those  products  which  are  necessary  to 
the  working  man.  But  we  will  leave  those  alone. 
If  you  were  to  sell  wheat  at  forty-five  per  cent,  less 
than  to-day's  price,  I  should  think  it  extremely 
likely  that  Stanley  Rces  would  be  able  to  dine  with 
you  to-morrow  night." 

"  You  are  talking  like  a  madman,"  Phipps  de- 
clared. "  It  would  mean  ruin." 

"  How  sad ! "  Wingate  murmured.  "  All  the 
same,  I  do  not  think  that  you  will  see  your  nephew 
again  until  you  have  sold  wheat." 

"  You  admit  that  you  are  responsible,  then  ?  " 
Phipps  growled. 

"  I  admit  nothing  of  the  sort.  I  am  simply  specu- 
lating as  to  the  possible  cause  of  his  disappearance. 
If  I  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  those  would  be  my 
terms.  To-morrow  they  might  be  the  same;  per- 
haps the  next  day.  But,"  he  went  on,  with  a  sud- 
den almost  fierce  break  in  his  voice,  "  the  day  after 


THE  PROFITEERS  203 

would  probably  be  too  late.  There  are  a  great 
many  hungry  people  in  the  north.  There  are  a 
great  many  who  are  starving.  There  is  one  in  Lon- 
don who  is  beginning  to  feel  the  pangs." 

"  You  are  ill-treating  him !  "  Phipps  cried  passion- 
ately. "I  shall  go  to  Scotland  Yard  myself!  I 
shall  tell  them  what  you  have  said.  I  shall  de- 
nounce you !  " 

"My  dear  fellow,"  Wingate  scoffed,  "you  have 
done  that  already.  You  have  induced  those  very  ex- 
cellent upholders  of  English  law  and  liberty  to  set  a 
plain-clothes  man  to  following  me  about.  I  can  as- 
sure you  that  he  has  had  a  very  pleasant  and  a  very 
busy  evening." 

Phipps  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  Wingate,"  he  exclaimed,  "  curse  you  !  " 

"  A  very  natural  sentiment.  I  hope  that  you 
may  repeat  it  a  good  many  times  before  the  end 
comes." 

"  You  are  a  conspirator  —  a  criminal !  "  Phipps 
continued,  his  voice  shaking  with  excitement.  "  You 
are  breaking  the  laws  of  the  country.  I  shall  see 
that  you  are  in  gaol  before  the  week  is  out !  " 

"  A  good  deal  of  what  you  say  is  true,"  Wingate 
admitted,  "  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  lat- 
ter part.  Believe  me,  Peter  Phipps,  you  are  a  great 
deal  more  likely  to  see  the  inside  of  a  prison  than 


204  THE  PROFITEERS 

I  am.  You  will  be  a  poor  man  presently  and  poor 
men  of  your  type  are  desperate." 

Phipps  remained  perfectly  silent  for  several  mo- 
ments. 

"  Wingate,  you  are  a  hard  enemy,"  he  said  at 
last.  "Will  you  treat?" 

"  I  have  named  the  price." 

"  You  are  a  fool !  "  Phipps  almost  shouted.  "  Do 
you  know,"  he  went  on,  striking  the  table  with  his 
clenched  fist,  "  that  what  you  suggest  would  cost 
five  million  pounds  ?  " 

"  You  and  your  friends  can  stand  it,"  was  the 
unruffled  reply.  "  If  not,  your  brokers  can  share 
the  loss." 

"That  means  you  make  a  bankrupt  of  me?" 
Phipps  demanded  hoarsely. 

"Why  not?"  Wingate  replied.  "It's  been  a 
long  duel  between  us,  Phipps,  and  I  mean  this  to  be 
the  final  bout." 

Phipps  moved  his  position  a  little  uneasily.  He 
was  keeping  himself  under  control,  but  the  veins 
were  standing  out  upon  his  forehead,  his  frame  seemed 
tense  with  passion. 

"  Tell  me,  Wingate,  is  it  still  the  girl?  " 

Wingate  looked  across  at  him.  His  face  and  tone 
were  alike  relentless,  his  eyes  shone  like  points  of 
steel. 


THE  PROFITEERS  205 

"  You  did  ill  to  remind  me  of  that,  Phipps,"  he 
said.  "  However,  I  will  answer  your  question.  It 
is  still  the  girl." 

"  She  was  nothing  to  you,"  Phipps  muttered  sul- 
lenly. 

"  One  can't  make  your  class  of  reptile  understand 
these  things,"  Wingate  declared  scornfully.  "  She 
came  to  me  in  New  York  with  a  letter  from  her 
father,  my  old  tutor,  who  had  died  out  in  the  Adi- 
rondacks  without  a  shilling  in  the  world.  He  sent 
the  girl  to  me  and  asked  me  to  put  her  in  the  way 
of  earning  her  own  living.  It  was  a  sacred  charge, 
that,  and  I  accepted  it  willingly.  The  only  trouble 
was  that  I  was  leaving  for  Europe  the  next  day.  I 
put  a  thousand  dollars  in  the  bank  for  her,  found 
her  a  comfortable  home  with  respectable  people,  and 
then  considered  in  what  office  I  could  place  her  dur- 
ing my  absence.  I  had  the  misfortune  to  meet  you 
that  morning.  Time  was  short.  Every  one  knew 
that  your  office  was  conducted  on  sound  business 
lines.  I  told  you  her  story  and  you  took  her.  I 
hadn't  an  idea  that  a  man  alive  could  be  such  a 
villain  as  you  turned  out  to  be." 

"  You'd  be  a  fine  fellow,  Wingate,"  Phipps  said, 
with  a  touch  of  his  old  cynicism,  "  if  you  weren't 
always  sheering  off  towards  the  melodramatic. 
The  girl  wanted  to  see  life,  she  attracted  me,  and  I 


206  THE  PROFITEERS 

showed  it  to  her.  I'd  have  done  the  right  thing  by 
her  if  she  hadn't  behaved  like  an  hysterical  idiot." 

"  The  girl's  death  lies  at  your  door,  and  you 
know  it,"  Wingate  replied.  "  It  has  taken  me  a 
good  many  years  to  pay  my  debt  to  the  dead.  I 
did  my  best  to  kill  you,  but  without  a  weapon  you 
were  a  hard  man  to  shake  the  last  spark  of  life  out 
of. —  There,  I  am  tired  of  this.  I  have  let  you  talk. 
I  have  answered  your  useless  questions.  Be  so  good 
as  to  leave  me." 

The  shadow  of  impending  disaster  seemed  to  have 
found  its  way  into  Phipps'  bones.  He  seemed  to 
have  lost  alike  his  courage  and  his  dignity. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said,  "  the  rest  of  the  things 
which  lie  between  us  we  can  fight  out,  but  I  want  my 
nephew.  What  will  his  return  cost  me  in  hard  cash 
between  you  and  me  ?  " 

"  The  cost  of  bringing  wheat  down  to  its  normal 
figure,"  Wingate  answered. 

"  I  couldn't  do  it  if  I  would,"  Phipps  argued. 
"  There's  Skinflint  Martin  —  he  won't  part  with  a 
bushel.  I'm  not  alone  in  this.  Come,  I  have  my 
cheque  book  in  my  pocket.  You  can  fight  the  B. 
&  I.  to  the  death,  if  you  will  —  commercially,  polit- 
ically, anyhow  —  but  I  want  my  nephew." 

Wingate  threw  open  the  door. 

"  There  was  a  girl  once,"  he  reminded  him,  "  my 


THE  PROFITEERS  207 

ward,  who  drowned  herself.  To  hell  with  your 
nephew,  Phipps !  " 

Passion  for  a  moment  made  once  more  a  man  of 
Phipps.  His  eyes  blazed. 

"And  to  hell  with  you!  —  Hypocrite!  —  Adult- 
erer !  "  he  shouted. 

Wingate's  fist  missed  the  point  of  his  adversary's 
chin  by  less  than  a  thought.  Phipps  went  stagger- 
ing back  through  the  open  door  into  the  corridor 
and  stood  leaning  against  the  wall,  half  dazed,  his 
hand  to  his  cheek.  Wingate  looked  at  him  con- 
temptuously for  a  moment,  every  nerve  in  his  body 
aching  for  the  fight.  Then  he  remembered. 

"Get  home  to  your  kennel,  Phipps,"  he  ordered. 

Then  he  slammed  the  door  and  locked  it. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

"  Another  strange  face,"  Sarah  remarked,  look- 
ing after  the  butler  who  had  just  brought  in  the  cof- 
fee. "  I  thought  you  were  one  of  those  women,  Jo- 
sephine, who  always  kept  their  servants." 

"  I  do,  as  a  rule,"  was  the  quiet  reply,  "  only 
sometimes  Henry  intervenes.  If  there  is  one  thing 
that  the  modern  servant  dislikes,  it  is  sarcasm,  and 
sarcasm  is  Henry's  favourite  weapon  when  he  wants 
to  be  really  disagreeable.  Generally  speaking,  I 
think  a  servant  would  rather  be  sworn  at." 

"  You  seem  to  have  made  a  clean  sweep  this 
time." 

Josephine  stirred  her  coffee  thoughtfully. 

"  Henry  has  been  having  one  of  his  bad  weeks," 
she  said.  "  He  has  been  absolutely  impossible  to 
every  one.  He  threatened  to  give  every  servant  in 
the  house  notice,  the  other  day,  because  his  bell 
wasn't  answered,  so  I  took  him  at  his  word.  We've 
no  one  left  except  the  cook,  and  she  declined  to  go. 
She  has  been  with  us  ever  since  we  were  married. 
All  the  same,  I  wouldn't  have  had  any  one  but  you 


THE  PROFITEERS  >zog 

and  Jimmy  to  dinner  to-night.  I  wasn't  at  all  sure 
how  things  would  turn  out.  Besides,  it  isn't  every 
one  I'd  care  to  ask  into  this  dungeon  of  a  room." 

"  I  was  wondering  why  we  were  here,  Josephine," 
Sarah  remarked,  looking  around  her.  "  It  used  to 
be  one  of  your  hospital  rooms,  surely  ?  " 

Josephine  noddech 

"  The  other  rooms  want  turning  out,  dear.  I 
knew  you  wouldn't  mind." 

There  are  women  as  well  as  men  who  have  learnt 
the  art  of  a  sociable  silence.  Josephine  and  Sarah 
finished  their  cigarettes  and  their  coffee  in  a  condi- 
tion of  reflective  ease.  Then  Sarah  stood  up  and 
straightened  her-  hair  in  front  of  the  mirror. 

"  Josephine,"  she  announced,  "  I  am  going  to 
marry  Jimmy." 

"  You  have  really  made  up  your  minds  at  last, 
then  ?  "  her  hostess  enquired,  with  interest. 

"  My  dear,"  Sarah  declared,  "  we've  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  we  can't  afford  to  remain  single  any 
longer.  We  are  both  spending  far  too  much 
money." 

"  I  am  sure  I  wish  you  luck,"  Josephine  said  ear- 
nestly. "  I  am  very  fond  of  Jimmy." 

"  He  is  rather  a  dear." 

"  I  wonder  how  you'll  like  settling  down.  It  will 
be  a  very  different  life  for  you." 


210  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Of  course,"  Sarah  admitted  with  a  sigh,  "  I  hate 
giving  up  my  profession,  but  there  is  a  sort  of 
monotony  about  it  when  Jimmy  insists  upon  being 
my  only  fare." 

"  Is  this  the  reason  why  Jimmy  is  making 
his  great  debut  as  a  man  of  affairs?"  Josephine 
asked. 

"  Not  exactly,"  Sarah  replied.  "  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  that  was  rather  a  bluff.  His  mother  is  so 
afraid  of  his  starting  in  some  business  where  they'll 
get  him  to  put  some  money  in,  that  she  has  agreed 
to  allow  him  a  couple  of  thousand  a  year  until  he 
comes  in  for  his  property,  on  condition  that  he 
clears  out  of  the  City  altogether." 

"  That  seems  quite  decent  of  her.  Where  are  you 
going  to  live?  " 

"  In  the  bailiff's  cottage  on  the  Longmere  estate, 
which  will  come  to  Jimmy  some  day.  Jimmy  is 
going  to  take  an  interest  in  farming.  So  long  as  it 
isn't  his  own  farm,  his  mother  thinks  that  won't 
hurt." 

Josephine  laughed  softly. 

"  A  bright  old  lady,  his  mother,  I  should  think." 

"  Well,  she  has  had  the  good  sense  to  realise  at 
last  that  I  am  the  only  person  likely  to  keep  Jimmy 
out  of  mischief.  He  is  such  a  booby  sometimes, 
and  yet,  somehow  or  other,  you  know,  Josephine, 


THE  PROFITEERS  211 

I've  never  wanted  to  marry  anybody  else.     I  don't 
understand  why,  but  there  it  is." 

"  That's  the  right  feeling,  dear,  so  long  as  you're 
sure,"  Josephine  declared  cheerfully. 

Sarah  rose  suddenly  to  her  feet,  crossed  the  little 
space  between  them,  and  crouched  on  the  floor  by 
her  friend's  chair. 

"  You've  been  such  a  brick  to  me,  dear,"  she  de- 
clared, looking  up  at  her  fondly,  "  and  I  feel  a  per- 
fect beast  being  so  happy  all  the  time." 

Josephine  let  her  fingers  rest  on  the  strands  of^ 
soft,  wavy  hair. 

"  Don't  be  absurd,  Sarah,"  she  remonstrated. 
"  Besides,  things  haven't  been  quite  so  bad  with  me 
lately." 

"  You  look  different,  somehow,"  her  guest  ad- 
mitted, "  as  though  you  were  taking  a  little  more 
interest  in  life.  I've  seen  quite  a  wonderful  light  in 
your  eyes,  now  and  then." 

"  Ridiculous ! " 

"  It  isn't  ridiculous,  and  I'm  delighted  about  it," 
Sarah  went  on.  "  You  must  know,  dear,  that  I  am 
not  quite  an  idiot,  and  I  am  too  fond  of  you  not  to 
notice  any  change." 

"  There  is  just  one  thing  which  does  make  a  real 
change  in  a  woman's  life,"  Josephine  declared,  her 
voice  trembling  for  a  moment,  "  and  that  is  when 


212  THE  PROFITEERS 

she  finds  that  it  really  makes  a  difference  to  some 
one  whether  she's  miserable  or  not." 

Sarah  nodded  appreciatively. 

*'  I  know  you  think  I  am  only  a  shallow,  out- 
rageous little  flirt  sometimes,  Josephine,"  she  said, 
"  but  I  am  not.  I  do  know  what  you  mean.  Only 
I  don't  think  you  help  yourself  to  as  much  happi- 
ness from  that  knowledge  as  you  ought  to,  as  you 
have  a  right  to." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  Josephine  demanded  half 
fearfully. 

"  Just  what  I  say.  I  think  he  is  simply  splendid, 
and  if  any  one  cared  for  me  as  much  as  he  does  for 
you,  I'd— " 

She  stopped  short  and  looked  towards  the  door. 
Jimmy  was  peering  in,  and  behind  him  Lord  Dredlin- 
ton. 

"  Eh?  what's  that,  Sarah?  "  the  former  demanded. 
"You'd  what?" 

Sarah  rose  to  her  feet  and  resumed  her  place  in 
her  chair. 

"  I  was  trying  to  pull  Josephine  down  from  the 
clouds,"  she  remarked. 

Lord  Dredlinton  smiled  across  at  her.  There  was 
an  unpleasant  significance  in  his  tone,  as  he  an- 
swered, "  Oh,  it  can  be  done,  my  dear  young 
lady." 


THE  PROFITEERS  213 

"  but  I  am  not  sure  that  you  are  the  right  person 
to  do  it." 

The  shadow  had  fallen  once  more  upon  Josephine's 
face.  She  had  become  cold  and  indifferent.  She 
ignored  her  husband's  words.  Lord  Dredlinton  was 
looking  around  him  in  disgust. 

"  What  on  earth  are  we  in  this  mausoleum  for?  " 
he  demanded. 

"  Domestic  reasons,"  Josephine  answered,  with 
her  finger  upon  the  bell.  "  Have  you  men  had  your 
coffee?" 

"  We  had  it  in  the  dining  room,"  Jimmy  assured 
her. 

"  I  can't  think  why  you  hurried  so,"  Sarah  grum- 
bled. "  How  dared  you  only  stay  away  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  Jimmy !  You  know  I  love  to  have  a  gos- 
sip with  Josephine." 

"  Couldn't  stick  being  parted  from  you  any 
longer,  my  dear,"  the  young  man  replied  com- 
placently. 

Sarah  made  a  grimace. 

"  To  be  perfectly  candid,"  Lord  Dredlinton  inter- 
vened, throwing  away  his  cigar  and  lighting  a  cig- 
arette, "  I  am  afraid  it  was  my  fault  that  we  came 
in  so  soon.  Poor  sort  of  host,  eh,  Jimmy?  Fact 
is,  I'm  nervous  to-night.  Every  damned  newspaper 
I've  picked  up  seems  to  be  launching  thunderbolts 


2i4  THE  PROFITEERS 

at  the  B.  &  I.  And  now  this  is  the  third  day  and 
there's  no  news  of  Stanley." 

"  Every  one  seems  to  know  about  his  disappear- 
ance," Jimmy  remarked.  "  They  were  all  talking 
about  it  at  the  club  to-day." 

"  What  do  they  say  ?  "  Lord  Dredlinton  asked 
eagerly.  "  They  all  leave  off  talking  about  it  when 
I  am  round." 

"  Blooming  mystery,"  the  young  man  pronounced. 
"  That's  the  conclusion  every  one  seems  to  arrive 
at.  A  chap  I  know,  whose  chauffeur  pals  up  with 
Rees'  valet,  told  me  that  he's  been  having  heaps 
of  threatening  letters  from  fellows  who'd  got  the 
knock  over  the  B.  &  I.  He  seemed  to  think  they'd 
done  him  in." 

Dredlinton  shivered  nervously. 

"  It's  perfectly  abominable,"  he  declared.  "  Here 
we  are  supposed  to  have  the  finest  police  system  in 
the  world,  and  yet  a  man  can  disappear  from  his 
rooms  in  the  very  centre  of  London,  and  no  one  has 
even  a  clue  as  to  what  has  become  of  him." 

"  Looks  bad,"  Jimmy  acknowledged. 

"  I  don't  understand  much  about  business  affairs," 
Sarah  remarked,  "  but  the  B.  &  I.  case  does  seem  to 
be  a  remarkably  unpopular  undertaking." 

Dredlinton  kicked  a  footstool  out  of  his  way, 
frowning  angrily. 


THE  PROFITEERS  215 

'*  The  B.  &  I.  is  only  an  ordinary  business  con- 
cern," he  insisted.  "We  have  a  right  to  make 
money  if  we  are  clever  enough  to  do  it.  We  spec- 
ulate in  lots  of  other  things  besides  wheat,  and  we 
have  our  losses  to  face  as  well  as  our  profits.  I 
believe  that  fellow  Wingate  is  at  the  bottom  of  all 
this  agitation.  Just  like  those  confounded  Amer- 
icans. Why  can't  they  mind  their  own  business ! " 

"  It  isn't  very  long,"  Josephine  remarked  drily, 
"  since  we  were  rather  glad  that  America  didn't 
mind  her  own  business." 

"  Bosh !  "  her  husband  scoffed.  "  If  English  peo- 
ple are  to  be  bullied  and  their  liberty  interfered  with 
in  this  manner,  we  might  as  well  have  lost  the  war 
and  become  a  German  Colony." 

"  Don't  agree  with  you,  sir,"  Jimmy  declared, 
with  most  unusual  seriousness.  "  I  don't  like  the 
way  you  are  talking,  and  I'm  dead  off  the  B.  &  I.  my- 
self. I'd  cut  my  connection  with  it,  if  I  were  you. 
Been  looking  for  trouble  for  a  long  time  —  and, 
great  Scot,  I  believe  they're  going  to  get  it ! " 

"  Damned  rubbish ! "  Lord  Dredlinton  muttered 
angrily. 

"Hearens!  Jimmy's  in  earnest!"  Sarah  ex- 
claimed, rising.  "  I  am  sure  it's  time  we  went.  We 
are  overdue  at  his  mother's,  and  one  of  my  cylin- 
ders is  missing.  Come  on,  Jimmy.  —  Good-by,  Jo- 


216  THE  PROFITEERS 

sephine  dear!  You'll  forgive  us  if  we  hurry  off? 
I  did  tell  you  we  had  to  go  directly  after  dinner, 
didn't  I?" 

"  You  did,  dear,"  Josephine  assented,  walking 
towards  the  door  with  her  friend.  "  Come  in  and 
see  me  again  soon." 

There  was  the  sound  of  voices  in  the  hall.  Lord 
Dredlinton  started  eagerly. 

"  That's  the  fellow  from  Scotland  Yard,  I  hope," 
he  said.  "  Promised  to  come  round  to-night.  Per- 
haps they've  news  of  Stanley." 

The  door  was  thrown  open,  and  the  new  butler 
ushered  in  a  tall,  thin  man  dressed  in  morning 
clothes  of  somewhat  severe  cut. 

"  Inspector  Shields,  my  lord,"  he  announced. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Lord  Dredlinton's  impatience  was  almost  fever- 
ish. One  would  have  imagined  that  Stanley  Rees 
had  been  one  of  his  dearest  friends,  instead  of  a 
young  man  whom  he  rather  disliked. 

"  Come  in,  Inspector,"  he  invited.  "  Come  in. 
Glad  to  see  you.  Any  news  ?  " 

"  None  whatever,  my  lord,"  was  the  laconic  re- 
ply. 

Dredlinton's  face  fell.  He  looked  at  his  visitor, 
speechless  for  a  moment.  The  inspector  gravely 
saluted  Josephine  and  accepted  the  chair  to  which 
she  waved  him. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  Dredlinton  declared,  "  this  is 
most  unsatisfactory !  Most  disappointing !  " 

"  I  was  afraid  that  you  might  find  it  so,"  the  in- 
spector assented. 

Josephine  turned  in  her  chair  and  contemplated 
the  latter  with  some  interest.  He  was  quietly 
dressed  in  well-cut  but  unobtrusive  clothes.  His 
long,  narrow  face  had  features  of  sensibility.  His 
hair  was  grizzled  a  little  at  the  temples.  His  com- 


218  THE  PROFITEERS 

posure  seemed  part  of  the  man,  passive  and  imper- 
turbable. 

"  Isn't  a  disappearance  of  this  sort  rather  un- 
usual ?  "  she  enquired. 

"  Most  unusual,  your  ladyship,"  the  man  ad- 
mitted. "  I  scarcely  remember  a  similar  case." 

"  '  Unusual '  seems  to  me  a  mild  word !  "  Dredlin- 
ton  exclaimed  angrily.  "  Here  is  a  well-known 
young  man,  with  friends  in  every  circle  of  life  and 
engagements  at  every  hour,  a  partner  in  an  impor- 
tant commercial  undertaking,  who  is  absolutely  re- 
moved from  his  rooms  in  one  of  the  best-known  hotels 
in  London,  and  at  the  end  of  three  days  the  police 
are  powerless  to  find  out  what  has  become  of  him ! " 

"  Up  to  the  present,  my  lord,"  the  inspector  con- 
fessed, "  we  certainly  have  no  clue." 

"  But,  dash  it  all,  you  must  have  some  idea  as  to 
what  has  become  of  him?"  his  questioner  insisted. 
*'  Young  men  don't  disappear  through  the  windows 
of  the  Milan  Bar,  do  they?  " 

"  If  you  assure  us,  my  lord,  that  we  may  rule  out 
any  idea  of  a  voluntary  disappearance  — " 

"  Voluntary  disappearance  be  damned !  "  Dredlin- 
ton  interrupted.  "  Don't  let  me  hear  any  more  of 
such  rubbish!  I  can  assure  you  that  such  a  sup- 
position is  absolutely  out  of  the  question." 

"  Then  in  that  case,  my  lord,  I  may  put  it  to  you 


THE  PROFITEERS  219 

that  Mr.  Rees'  disappearance  is  due  to  the  action 
of  no  ordinary  criminal  or  blackmailer,  but  is  part 
of  a  much  more  deeply  laid  scheme." 

"Exactly  what  do  you  mean?"  was  the  almost 
fierce  demand. 

"  It  appears  that  Mr.  Rees,"  the  inspector  went 
on,  speaking  with  some  emphasis,  "  is  connected  with 
an  undertaking  which  during  the  last  few  weeks  has 
provoked  a  wave  of  anger  and  disgust  throughout 
the  country." 

"  Are  you  referring  to  the  British  and  Imperial 
Granaries,  Limited  ?  "  his  interlocutor  enquired. 
"  That,  I  believe,  is  the  name  of  the  company." 
Lord  Dredlinton's  anxiety  visibly  increased.  He 
was  standing  underneath  the  suspended  globe  of  the 
electric  light,  his  fingers  nervously  pulling  to  pieces 
the  cigarette  which  he  had  been  smoking.  There 
was  a  look  of  fear  in  his  weak  eyes.  Josephine  sur- 
veyed him  thoughtfully.  The  coward  in  him  had 
flared  up,  and  there  was  no  room  for  any  other 
characteristic.  Fear  was  written  in  his  face,  trem- 
bled in  his  tone,  betrayed  itself  in  his  gestures. 

"  But,  dash  it  all,"  he  expostulated,  "  there  are 
other  directors!  I  am  one  myself.  Don't  you  see 
how  serious  this  all  is?  If  Rees  can  be  spirited 
away  and  no  one  be  able  to  lift  up  a  finger  to  help 
him,  what  about  the  rest  of  us  ?  " 


220  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  It  was  in  my  mind  to  warn  your  lordship," 
Shields  observed. 

Dredlinton's  fear  merged  into  fury,  —  a  blind  and 
nerveless  passion. 

"  But  this  is  outrageous ! "  he  exclaimed,  striking 
the  table  with  his  fist.  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that 
you  can  come  here  to  me  from  Scotland  Yard  —  to 
me,  a  peer  of  England,  living  in  the  heart  of  Lon- 
don —  and  tell  me  that  a  friend  and  a  business  con- 
nection of  mine  has  been  kidnapped  and  practically 
warn  me  against  the  same  fate?  What  on  earth 
do  we  pay  our  police  for?  What  sort  of  a  country 
are  we  living  in  ?  Are  you  all  nincompoops  ?  " 

"  We  remain  what  we  are,  notwithstanding  your 
lordship's  opinion,"  the  inspector  answered,  with  a 
shade  of  sarcasm  in  his  level  tone.  "  I  may  add  that 
I  am  not  the  only  one  engaged  in  this  investigation, 
and  I  can  only  do  my  duty  according  to  the  best  of 
my  ability." 

"  You've  done  nothing  —  nothing  at  all !  "  Dred- 
linton  protested  angrily.  "  Added  to  that,  you 
actually  come  here  and  warn  me  that  I,  too,  may  be 
the  victim  of  a  plot,  against  the  ringleaders  of 
which  you  seem  to  be  helpless.  The  British  and  Im- 
perial Granaries  is  a  perfectly  legitimate  company 
doing  a  perfectly  legitimate  business.  We're  not  out 
for  our  health  —  who  is  in  the  City  ?  If  we  can 


THE  PROFITEERS  221 

make  money  out  of  wheat,  it's  our  business  and  no- 
body else's." 

The  inspector  was  a  little  weary,  but  he  con- 
tinued without  any  sign  of  impatience. 

"  I  know  nothing  about  the  British  and  Imperial 
Granaries,  my  lord,"  he  said.  "  My  time  is  too 
fully  occupied  to  take  any  interest  in  outside  af- 
fairs. In  the  course  of  time,"  he  went  on,  "  we 
shall  inevitably  get  to  the  bottom  of  this  very  clev- 
erly engineered  conspiracy.  Crime  of  every  sort  is 
detected  sooner  or  later,  except  in  the  case,  say,  of 
a  single-handed  murder,  or  an  offence  of  that  na- 
ture. In  the  present  instance,  there  is  evidence  that 
a  very  large  number  of  persons  were  concerned,  and 
detection  finally  becomes,  therefore,  a  certainty^ 
In  the  meantime,  however,  I  thought  it  as  well  to  pass 
you  a  word  of  warning." 

"  Warning,  indeed !  "  Dredlinton  muttered.  "  I 
won't  move  out  of  the  house  without  a  bodyguard, 
If  any  one  dares  to  interfere  with  me,  I'll  —  I'll 
shoot  them !  What  happens  to  a  man,  Inspector,  if 
he  shoots  another  in  self-defence,  eh?  " 

"  It  depends  upon  the  circumstances,  my  lord," 
was  the  cautious  reply.  "  The  law  in  England  re- 
quires self-defence  to  be  very  clearly  established." 

Dredlinton  moved  to  the  sideboard,  poured  him- 
self out  a  liqueur  and  drank  it  off. 


222  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Will  you  take  something,  Inspector?  "  he  asked, 
turning  around. 

"  I  thank  your  lordship,  no !  " 

Dredlinton  thrust  his  hands  into  his  pockets  and 
returned  to  his  seat. 

"  I  don't  want  to  lose  my  temper,"  he  said,  —  "I 
am  perfectly  cool,  as  you  see,  Inspector  —  but  put 
yourself  in  my  position,  now.  Don't  you  think  it's 
enough  to  make  a  man  furious  to  have  an  official 
from  Scotland  Yard  come  into  his  house  here  in  the 
heart  of  London  and  warn  him  that  he  is  in  danger 
of  being  kidnapped?  " 

"  I  don't  think  that  I  went  quite  so  far  as  that," 
the  inspector  objected,  "  nor  do  I  in  any  way  sug- 
gest that,  sooner  or  later,  the  people  who  are  re- 
sponsible for  Mr.  Rees'  disappearance  will  not  be 
brought  to  justice.  But  I  considered  it  my  duty  to 
point  out  to  you  that  the  directors  of  your  com- 
pany appear  to  have  excited  a  feeling  throughout 
the  whole  of  England,  which  might  well  bring  you 
enemies  wholly  unconnected  with  the  ordinary  crim- 
inal classes.  That  is  where  our  difficulty  lies." 

Lord  Dredlinton  had  the  air  of  a  man  argued  into 
reasonableness. 

"  I  see,  Inspector.  I  quite  understand,"  he  de- 
clared. "  But  listen  to  me.  I  shall  throw  myself 
upon  your  protection.  In  Mr.  Rees'  absence,  it  is 


THE  PROFITEERS  223 

of  vital  importance,  during  the  next  few  days,  that 
nothing  should  happen  to  Mr.  Phipps,  Mr.  Martin 
or  myself.  You  must  have  us  all  shadowed.  You 
must  see  that  I  am  not  lost  sight  of  for  a  moment. 
Here  is  a  little  earnest  of  what  is  to  come,"  he  went 
on,  drawing  out  his  pocketbook  and  passing  a  folded 
note  over  towards  his  visitor,  "  and  remember,  Mr. 
Phipps  has  offered  five  hundred  pounds  for  the  dis- 
covery of  the  person  who  is  responsible  for  his 
nephew's  disappearance." 

Shields  made  no  movement  towards  the  money. 
He  shook  his  head  gently. 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  take  the  reward,  my  lord,  if  I 
am  fortunate  enough  to  earn  it,"  he  said,  rising  to 
his  feet.  "  Until  then  I  do  not  require  payment  for 
my  services." 

Dredlinton  replaced  the  note  in  his  pocket. 

"  Just  as  you  like,  of  course,  Inspector.  I  only 
meant  it  as  a  little  incentive.  And  I  want  you  to 
remember  this  —  do  rub  it  into  your  Chief  —  I  have 
already  called  to  see  him  twice,  and  it  doesn't  seem 
to  me  that  the  authorities  are  looking  upon  our 
position  seriously  enough.  We  have  a  right  to  the 
utmost  protection  the  law  can  give  us,  and  further, 
I  must  insist  upon  it  that  every  effort  is  made  to 
discover  Mr.  Rees  before  it  is  too  late." 

The  butler  stood  on  the  threshold.     He  had  en- 


224  THE  PROFITEERS 

tered  in  response  to  Lord  Dredlinton's  ring,  with 
the  perfect  silence  and  promptitude  of  the  best  of 
his  class.  His  master  stared  at  him  for  a  moment 
uneasily.  The  man's  appearance,  grave  and  re- 
spectable though  he  was,  seemed  to  have  startled 
him. 

"  Show  the  inspector  out,"  he  directed.  "  Good 
night,  Mr.  Shields." 

The  man  bowed  to  Josephine. 

"  Good  night,  my  lord !  " 

Dredlinton  stated  at  the  closed  door.  Then  he 
turned  around  with  a  little  gesture  of  anger. 

"  Every  damned  thing  that  happens,  nowadays, 
seems  designed  to  irritate  me ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"  That  man  Shields  is  nothing  but  a  poopstick !  " 

"  I  differ  from  you  entirely,"  Josephine  declared. 
"  I  thought  that  he  seemed  a  very  intelligent  per- 
son, with  unusual  powers  of  self-restraint." 

"Shows  what  your  judgment  is  worth!  I  can't 
think  what  Scotland  Yard  are  about,  to  put  the 
greatest  lout  they  have  in  the  service  on  to  an  im- 
portant business  like  this.  And  what  the  mischief 
are  we  always  changing  servants  for?  There  were 
two  new  men  at  dinner,  and  that  butler  of  yours 
gives  me  the  creeps.  What  on  earth  has  become 
of  Jacob?" 

"  You  told  Jacob  yourself  to  go  to  hell,  a  few 


THE  PROFITEERS  225 

days  ago,"  Josephine  reminded  him.  "  You  can 
scarcely  expect  any  self-respecting  butler  to  stand 
your  continual  abuse." 

"  Or  a  self-respecting  wife,  eh?  "  he  sneered. 

Josephine  regarded  him  coldly. 

"  One's  servants,"  she  remarked,  "  have  an  ad- 
vantage. Jacob  has  found  a  better  place." 

"Precisely  what  you'd  like  to  do  yourself,  eh?" 

"  Precisely  what  I  intend  to  do  before  long." 

"Well,  then,  why  don't  you  do  it?"  he  de- 
manded brutally.  "  You  think  that  everything  I 
said  the  other  day  was  bluff,  eh,  and  that  Stanley 
Rees'  disappearance  has  driven  everything  else  out 
of  my  head?  Well,  you're  wrong,  madam.  As 
soon  as  this  infernal  business  is  done  with,  I  am 
going  to  pay  a  visit  to  my  lawyers." 

"  For  once,"  she  said,  with  a  faint  smile,  "  you 
will  take  my  good  wishes  with  you." 

"  You  mean,"  he  exclaimed,  moving  from  his 
place  and  standing  before  her  with  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  "  that  you  want  to  get  rid  of  me,  eh?  " 

She  met  his  scowling  gaze  fearlessly. 

"  Of  course  I  do.  I  don't  think  that  any  woman 
could  have  lived  with  you  as  long  as  I  have  and  not 
want  to  get  rid  of  you.  On  the  other  hand,  as  you 
know  —  as  in  your  heart  you  know  perfectly  well," 
she  went  on,  "  I  have  remained  a  faithful  wife  to 


226  THE  PROFITEERS 

you,  and  it  is  not  my  intention  to  have  you  take 
advantage  of  a  situation  for  which  you  were  entirely 
responsible.  You  will  have  to  remember,  Henry, 
that  the  reason  for  my  leaving  your  house  in  the 
middle  of  the  night  will  scarcely  help  your  case." 

Dredlinton  stood  and  glared  at  his  wife,  his  eyes 
narrowing,  his  mean  little  mouth  curled. 

"  Josephine,"  he  cried,  "  I  don't  care  a  damn 
about  your  leaving  my  house,  then  or  at  any  time, 
but  the  more  I  think  of  it,  the  stranger  it  seems  to 
me  that  this  friend  of  yours,  Wingate,  should  come 
to  the  office  and  threaten  me  for  my  connection  with 
the  B.  &  I.,  and  at  the  moment  of  leaving  offer  to 
sell  wheat.  I  am  getting  a  little  suspicious  about 
your  friend,  my  lady.  I  have  given  them  the  tip  at 
Scotland  Yard,  and  I  only  hope  they  take  advantage 
of  it." 

"  Why  single  out  Mr.  Wingate  ? "  she  asked. 
"  He  certainly  is  not  alone  in  his  antipathy  to  your 
company." 

"  Don't  I  know  that  ? "  Dredlinton  exclaimed 
angrily.  "  Don't  I  get  a  dozen  threatening  letters 
a  day?  Men  take  me  on  one  side  and  reason  with 
me  in  the  club.  I  had  a  Cabinet  Minister  at  the 
office  this  afternoon.  I  begin  to  get  the  cold 
shoulder  wherever  I  turn,  but,  damn  it  all,  don't 
you  understand  that  we  must  have  money  ?  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  227 

Josephine  regarded  him  with  a  cold  lack  of  sym- 
pathy in  her  face. 

"  I  understand  that  you  have  had  about  a  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds  of  mine,"  she  remarked. 

"  Like  your  generosity,  my  dear,  to  remind  me  of 
it,"  he  sneered.  "  To  you  it  seems,  I  suppose,  a 
great  deal  of  money.  To  me  —  well,  I  am  not  sure 
that  it  was  fair  compensation  for  what  I  have  never 
had." 

"  What  you  have  never  had,  you  never  deserved, 
Henry." 

He  flung  himself  towards  the  door. 

"  Josephine,"  he  said,  looking  back,  "  do  you 
know  you  are  one  of  the  few  women  in  the  world  I 
can't  even  talk  to?  You  freeze  me  up  every  time  I 
try.  I  wonder  whether  the  man  who  is  so  anxious 
to  stand  in  my  shoes  —  " 

She  was  suddenly  erect,  her  eyes  flaming.  He 
shuffled  out  and  slammed  the  door  after  him  with  a 
little  nervous  laugh. 


CHAPTER  XX 

Josephine  was  herself  again  within  a  few  moments 
of  her  husband's  departure.  She  stood  perfectly 
still  for  some  time,  as  though  listening  to  his  de- 
parting footsteps.  Then  she  crossed  the  room  and 
pressed  the  bell  twice.  Once  more  she  listened.  The 
change  in  her  expression  was  wonderful.  She  was 
expectant,  eager,  thrilled  with  the  contemplation  of 
some  imminent  happening.  Her  vigil  came  sud- 
denly to  an  end,  as  the  door  was  opened  and  closed 
again  a  little  abruptly.  It  was  no  servant  who  had 
obeyed  her  summons ;  it  was  Wingate  who  entered, 
unannounced  and  alone. 

"  Everything  goes  well? "  he  asked,  as  he  ad- 
vanced rapidly  into  the  room. 

"  Absolutely ! " 

"  Good !     Where  is  your  husband  now  ?  " 

"  Gone  to  his  den  to  have  a  drink,  I  expect,"  she 
replied.  "  He  is  in  a  terrible  state  of  nerves 
already." 

"  I  am  afraid  he  will  be  worse  before  we've  done 


THE  PROFITEERS  229 

with  him,"  Wingate  remarked  a  little  grimly. 
"Josephine,  just  one  moment!" 

She  was  in  his  arms  and  forgetfulness  enfolded 
them.  He  felt  the  soft  cling  of  her  body,  the  warm 
sweetness  of  her  lips.  It  was  she  who  disengaged 
herself. 

"  I  am  terrified  of  Henry  coming  back,"  she  ad- 
mitted, as  she  moved  reluctantly  away.  "  He  is  in 
one  of  his  most  hateful  moods  to-night.  Better  than 
anything  in  the  world  he  would  love  to  make  a 
scene." 

"  He  shall  have  all  the  opportunity  he  wants 
presently,"  Wingate  observed. 

The  door  was  opened  with  the  soft  abruptness  of 
one  who  has  approached  it  noiselessly  by  design. 
Dredlinton  stood  upon  the  threshold,  blinking  a  lit- 
tle as  he  gazed  into  the  room.  He  recognized  Win- 
gate  with  a  start  of  amazement. 

"  Wingate  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Why  the  mischief 
didn't  any  one  tell  me  you  were  here?  " 

"  Mr.  Wingate  called  to  see  me,"  Josephine  re- 
plied. 

There  was  an  ugly  curl  upon  Dredlinton's  lips. 
He  opened  his  mouth  and  closed  it  again.  Then  his 
truculent  attitude  suddenly  vanished  without  the 
slightest  warning.  He  became  an  entirely  altered 
person. 


230  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Look  here,  Wingate,"  he  confessed,  "  on  think- 
ing it  over,  I  believe  I've  been  making  rather  an  idiot 
of  myself.  Josephine,"  he  went  on,  turning  to  his 
wife,  "  be  so  kind  as  to  leave  us  alone  for  a  short 
time." 

He  opened  the  door.  Josephine  hesitated  for  a 
moment,  then,  in  response  to  a  barely  noticeable 
gesture  from  Wingate,  she  left  the  room.  Her  hus- 
band closed  the  door  carefully  behind  her.  His  at- 
titude, as  he  turned  once  more  towards  the  other 
man,  was  distinctly  conciliatory. 

"  Wingate,"  he  invited,  "  sit  down,  won't  you, 
and  smoke  a  cigar  with  me.  Let  us  have  a  reason- 
able chat  together.  I  am  perfectly  convinced  that 
there  is  nothing  for  us  to  quarrel  about." 

"  Since  when  have  you  come  to  that  conclusion, 
Lord  Dredlinton  ?  "  Wingate  asked,  without  aban- 
doning his  somewhat  uncompromising  attitude. 

"  Since  our  interview  at  the  office." 

"  You  mean  when  you  tried  to  blackmail  me  into 
selling  my  shipping  shares  ?  " 

Dredlinton  frowned. 

"  *  Blackmail '  is  not  a  word  to  be  used  between 
gentlemen,"  he  protested.  "  Look  here,  can't  you 
behave  like  a  decent  fellow  —  an  ordinary  human 
being,  you  know?  You  are  not  exactly  my  sort, 
but  I  am  sure  you're  a  man  of  honour.  I  haven't 


THE  PROFITEERS  231 

any  objection  to  your  friendship  with  my  wife  — 
none  in  the  world." 

"  The  sentiments  which  I  entertain  for  your 
wife,  Lord  Dredlinton,"  Wingate  declared,  "  are  not 
sentiments  of  friendship." 

Dredlinton  paused  in  the  act  of  lighting  a  cigar. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  You  mean  that, 
after  all,  you've  humbugged  me,  both  of  you?  " 

"  Not  in  the  way  you  seem  to  imagine.  This 
much,  however,  is  true,  and  it  is  just  as  well  that 
you  should  know  it.  I  love  your  wife  and  I  intend 
to  take  her  from  you,  in  her  time  and  mine." 

Dredlinton  lit  his  cigar  and  threw  himself  back 
into  his  chair. 

"  Well,  you  don't  mince  matters,"  he  muttered. 

"  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should,"  was  the  calm 

reply. 

"  After  all,"  Dredlinton  observed,  with  a  cynical 
turn  of  the  lips,  "  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  ob- 
ject. Josephine's  been  no  wife  of  mine  for  years. 
Perhaps  you  have  a  fancy  for  your  love  affairs 
wrapped  up  in  a  little  ice  frosting." 

Wingate's  eyes  flashed. 

"  That'll  do,"  he  advised,  with  ominous  calm. 

"  Eh?  " 

"We  will  not  discuss  your  wife." 

Dredlinton  shrugged  his  shoulders. 


232  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  As  you  will.  Assist  me,  then,  in  my  office  of 
host.  What  or  whom  shall  we  discuss?  Choose 
your  own  subject." 

"  The  disappearance  of  Stanley  Rees,  if  you 
like,"  was  the  unexpected  reply. 

Dredlinton  stared  at  his  visitor.  Symptoms  of 
panic  were  beginning  to  reassert  themselves. 

"  You  admit,  then,  that  you  were  concerned  in 
that?" 

"  Concerned  in  it? "  Wingate  repeated.  "  I 
think  I  can  venture  a  little  further  than  that." 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  was  the  startled  query. 

"  I  mean  that  I  was  and  am  entirely  responsible 
for  it." 

Dredlinton's  cigar  fell  from  his  fingers.  For  the 
moment  he  forgot  to  pick  it  up.  Then  he  stooped 
and  with  shaking  fingers  threw  it  into  the  grate. 
When  he  confronted  Wingate  again,  his  face  was 
deadly  pale.  He  seemed,  indeed,  on  the  point  of 
collapse. 

"  Why  have  you  done  this?  "  he  faltered.  "  Tell 
me  what  you  mean,  man,  when  you  say  that  you 
were  responsible  for  his  disappearance  ?  " 

"You  are  curious?  Perhaps  a  little  supersti- 
tious, a  little  nervous  about  yourself,  eh?  " 

"  What  the  devil  have  you  done  with  Stanley 
Rees  ?  "  Dredlinton  demanded. 


THE  PROFITEERS  235 

Wingate  smiled. 

"  Rees,"  he  said,  "  as  I  reminded  you,  is  the  young- 
est of  the  British  and  Imperial  directors.  Let  me 
see,  next  to  him  would  come  Phipps,  I  suppose. 
Martin,  as  you  may  have  heard,  left  for  Paris  this 
morning  —  ostensibly.  I  have  an  idea  myself  that 
his  destination  is  South  America." 

"Martin  gone?"  the  other  gasped. 

"  Without  a  doubt.  I  think  he  saw  trouble 
ahead.  By  the  by,  have  you  heard  anything  of 
Phipps  lately?  Why  not  ring  up  and  enquire  about 
his  health?" 

Dredlinton  stared  a  little  wildly  at  the  speaker. 
Then  he  hurried  to  the  telephone,  snatched  up  the 
receiver  and  talked  into  it,  his  eyes  all  the 
time  fixed  upon  Wingate  in  a  sort  of  frightened 
stare. 

"  Mayf air  365,"  he  demanded.  "  Quick,  please ! 
An  urgent  call!  Yes?  Who's  that?  Yes,  yes! 
Browning  —  Mr.  Phipps'  secretary.  I  understand. 
Where's  Mr.  Phipps?  —  What?  " 

Dredlinton  drew  away  from  the  telephone  for  a 
moment.  He  dabbed  his  forehead  with  his  hand- 
kerchief. He  looked  like  a  man  on  the  verge  of  col- 
lapse. 

"  Something  unusual  seems  to  have  happened," 
Wingate  remarked  softly. 


234  THE  PROFITEERS 

Dredlinton  was  listening  once  more  to  the  voice 
.at  the  other  end  of  the  telephone. 

"You've  tried  his  club?  Eh?  And  the  restau- 
rant where  he  was  to  have  dined?  What  do  you 
say?  Kept  them  waiting  and  never  turned  up? 
You've  rung  up  the  police?  —  What  do  they  say?  — 
Doing  their  best?  —  My  God !  " 

The  receiver  slipped  from  his  nerveless  fingers. 
He  turned  around  to  face  Wingate,  crouching  over 
the  table,  his  arms  resting  upon  it,  his  eyes  blood- 
shot, a  slave  to  abject  fear. 

"  Peter  Phipps  has  disappeared ! "  he  gasped 
weakly. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  room  seemed  to  have  com- 
pletely changed  during  the  last  few  minutes.  Win- 
gate  was  no  longer  the  conventional  and  casual 
caller.  His  face  had  hardened,  his  eyes  were 
brighter,  his  manner  ominous.  He  was  the  modern 
figure  of  Fate,  playing  for  a  desperate  stake  with 
cold  and  deadly  earnestness.  Dredlinton  was 
simply  panic-stricken.  He  was  white  to  the  lips ; 
his  eyes  were  filled  with  the  frightened  gleam  of  the 
trapped  animal;  he  shook  and  twitched  in  a  par- 
oxysm of  nervous  collapse.  He  seemed  terrified  yet 
fascinated  by  the  strange  metamorphosis  in  his 
visitor. 

"  This  is  your  doing?  "  he  cried. 


THE  PROFITEERS  235 

"It  is  my  doing,"  Wingate  admitted,  with  hi» 
eyes  still  fixed  upon  the  other's  face. 

Dredlinton  stumbled  to  the  fireplace,  found  the 
bell  and  pressed  it  violently.  A  gleam  of  reas- 
surance came  to  him. 

"  My  servants  shall  hear  you  repeat  that ! "  he 
exclaimed.  "  I  will  have  them  all  in  to  witness  your 
confession.  You  are  pleading  guilty  to  a  crime !  I 
shall  send  out  for  the  police !  I  shall  hand  you  over 
from  here !  " 

"  Not  a  bad  idea,"  Wingate  acknowledged.  "  By 
the  by,  though,"  he  added,  a  moment  or  two  later, 
"  your  servants  don't  saem  in  a  great  hurry  to 
answer  that  bell." 

Dredlinton  pressed  it  more  violently  than  ever. 
By  listening  intently  both  men  could  hear  its  far- 
away summons.  But  nothing  happened.  The  house 
itself  seemed  empty.  There  was  not  even  the  sound 
of  a  footfall. 

"  You  will  really  have  to  change  your  servants," 
Wingate  continued.  "  Fancy  not  answering  a  bell  1 
They  must  hear  it  pealing  away.  Still,  you  have 
the  telephone.  Why  not  ring  up  Scotland  Yard 
direct?" 

Dredlinton,  dazed  now  with  terror,  took  his 
fingers  from  the  bell  and  snatched  up  the  telephone 
receiver.  All  the  time  his  eyes  were  riveted  upon  his- 


236  THE  PROFITEERS 

companion's,  their  weak  depths  filled  with  a  name- 
less horror. 

"  Quick !  "  he  shouted  down  the  receiver.  "  Scot- 
land Yard!  Put  me  straight  through  to  Scotland 
Yard !  —  Can  you  hear  me,  Exchange  ?  I  am  Lord 
Dredlinton,  1387  Mayfair.  If  I  am  cut  off,  ring 
through  to  Scotland  Yard  yourself.  Tell  them  I 
am  in  danger  of  my  life!  Tell  them  to  rush  here 
at  once !  " 

"  Yes,  they  had  better  hurry,"  Wingate  said 
tersely. 

Dredlinton  pulled  down  the  hook  of  the  receiver 
desperately. 

"  Can't  you  hear  me,  Exchange  ?  "  he  shouted. 
"  Quick !  This  is  urgent !  " 

"  Really,"  Wingate  remarked,  "  the  telephone 
people  seem  almost  as  negligent  as  your  serv- 
ants." 

The  receiver  slipped  from  the  hysterical  man's 
fingers.  He  collapsed  into  a  chair  and  leaned  across 
the  table. 

"What  does  it  mean?"  he  demanded  hoarsely. 
"  No  one  will  answer  the  bell.  I  seem  to  be  speaking 
through  the  telephone  to  a  dead  world." 

"  If  you  really  want  some  one,  I  dare  say  I  can 
help  you,"  Wingate  replied.  "  The  telephone  was 
disconnected  by  my  orders,  as  soon  as  you  had 


THE  PROFITEERS  237 

spoken  to  Phipps'  rooms.     But  —  now  you  are  only 
wasting  your  time." 

Dredlinton  had  rushed  to  the  door,  shaken  the 
handle  violently,  only  to  find  it  locked.  He  pom- 
melled with  his  fists  upon  the  panels. 

"  Come,  come,"  his  companion  expostulated, 
"  there  is  really  no  need  for  such  extremes.  You 
want  something,  perhaps?  Allow  me." 

Wingate  crossed  the  room,  rang  the  bell  three 
times  quickly,  and  stood  in  an  easy  attitude  upon 
the  hearth  rug,  with  his  hands  behind  his  back. 

"  Let  us  see,"  he  said,  "  whether  that  has  any 
effect  or  not." 

"Is  this  your  house  or  mine?"  Dredlinton  de- 
manded. 

"  Your  house,"  was  the  laconic  reply,  "  but  my 
servants." 

From  outside  was  heard  the  sound  of  a  turning 
key.  The  door  was  opened.  Grant,  the  new  butler, 
made  his  appearance, —  a  thin,  determined-looking 
man,  with  white  hair  and  keen  dark  eyes,  who  bore 
a  striking  resemblance  to  Mr.  Andrew  Slate. 

"  His  lordship  wants  the  whisky  and  soda  brought 
in  here,  Grant,"  Wingate  told  him,  "and  — wait 
just  a  moment.— You  seem  very  much  distressed 
about  the  disappearance  of  your  friends,  Lord  Dred- 
linton. Would  you  like  to  see  them?" 


238  THE  PROFITEERS 

"What?  See  Stanley  Rees  and  Peter  Phipps 
now  ?  " 

"Yes!" 

"  You  are  talking  nonsense !  "  Dredlinton  shouted. 
"  You  may  know  where  they  are  —  I  should  think 
it  is  very  likely  that  you  do  —  but  you  aren't  going 
to  persuade  me  that  you've  got  them  here  in  my 
house  —  that  you  can  turn  them  loose  when  you 
choose  to  say  the  word !  " 

Wingate  glanced  across  at  the  butler,  who  nodded 
understandingly  and  withdrew.  Dredlinton  inter- 
cepted the  look  and  shook  his  fist. 

"  You've  been  tampering  with  my  servants,  damn 
you  !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  Well,  they  haven't  been  yours  very  long,  have 
they?  "  Wingate  reminded  him. 

"  So  this  is  all  part  of  a  plot !  "  Dredlinton  con- 
tinued, with  increasing  apprehension.  "  They  are 
in  your  pay,  are  they?  It  was  only  this  morning  I 
noticed  all  these  new  faces  around  me. —  God  help 
us!" 

The  words  seemed  to  melt  away  from  his  lips. 
The  door  had  been  flung  open,  and  a  queer  little  pro- 
cession entered.  First  of  all  came  Grant,  followed 
by  a  footman  leading  Peter  Phipps  by  the  arm. 
Phipps'  hands  were  tied  together.  A  gag  in  the 
form  of  a  respirator  covered  his  mouth.  Cords 


THE  PROFITEERS  239 

which  had  apparently  only  just  been  unknotted  were 
around  each  leg.  He  had  the  expression  of  a  man 
completely  dazed.  After  him  came  another  of  the 
footmen  leading  Stanley  Rees,  who  was  in  similar 
straits.  The  latter,  however,  perhaps  by  reason  of 
his  longer  detention,  showed  none  of  the  passivity  of 
his  companion.  He  struggled  violently,  even  in  the 
few  yards  between  the  door  and  the  centre  of  the 
room.  Wingate  motioned  to  a  third  footman,  who 
had  followed  behind. 

"  Pull  out  that  round  table,"  he  directed. 
"  Place  three  chairs  around  it. —  So !  —  Sit  down, 
Phipps.  Sit  down,  Rees." 

They  obeyed,  Rees  only  after  a  further  useless 
struggle.  Dredlinton,  who  had  been  speechless  for 
the  last  few  seconds,  gazed  with  horror-stricken 
eyes  at  the  third  chair.  Wingate  smiled  at  him 
grimly. 

"That   third   chair,   Dredlinton,"   he   announced, 

"  is  for  you." 

The   terrified   man   made   an  ineffectual  dash  for 

the  door. 

"  You  mean  to  make  a  prisoner  of  me  in  my  own 
house?"  he  shouted,  as  he  found  himself  in  the 
clutches  of  one  of  the  footmen.  "  What  fool's  game 
is  this?  You  know  you  can't  keep  it  up,  Wingate. 
You'll  be  transported,  man.  Come,  confess  it's  a 


240  THE  PROFITEERS 

joke.     Tell  that  man  to  take  these  damned  cords 
away." 

"  It  is  a  joke,"  Wingate  assured  him  gravely, 
"  but  it  may  need  a  very  peculiar  sense  of  humour  to 
appreciate  it.  However,  you  need  not  fear.  Your 
life  is  not  threatened. —  Now,  Dickenson,  the  loaf." 

The  third  man  stepped  back  to  the  door  and,  from 
the  hands  of  another  servant  who  was  waiting  there, 
took  an  ordinary  cottage  loaf  of  bread.  The  three 
men  now  were  seated  around  the  table,  bound  to  their 
chairs  and  gagged.  In  the  middle  of  the  table,  just 
beyond  their  reach,  Wingate,  leaning  over  them, 
placed  the  loaf  of  bread. 

"  I  am  now,"  he  announced,  standing  a  little  back, 
"  going  to  tell  Grant  to  release  your  gags.  You 
will  probably  all  try  shouting.  I  can  assure  you 
that  it  is  quite  hopeless.  This  room  looks  out,  as 
you  know,  upon  a  courtyard.  The  street  is  on  the 
other  side  of  the  house.  Every  person  under  this 
roof  is  in  my  employ.  There  is  no  earthly  chance 
of  your  being  heard  by  any  one.  Still,  if  it  pleases 
you  to  shout,  shout !  —  Now,  Grant !  " 

The  man  unfastened  the  gags, —  first  Phipps', 
then  Rees',  and  finally  Dredlinton's.  Curiously 
enough,  not  one  of  the  three  men  raised  their  voices. 
Wingate's  words  seemed  to  have  impressed  them. 
Phipps  drew  one  or  two  deep  breaths.  Stanley 


THE  PROFITEERS  241 

Rees  rubbed  his  mouth  on  his  sleeve.  Dredlinton 
was  the  only  one  who  broke  into  anything  approach- 
ing violent  speech. 

"  My  God,  Wingate,"  he  exclaimed,  "  if  you  think 
I'll  ever  forget  this,  you're  mistaken!  I'll  see  you 
in  prison  for  it,  whatever  it  costs  me !  " 

"  The  after-consequences  of  this  little  melo- 
drama," Phipps  interposed,  with  grim  fury,  "  cer- 
tainly present  something  of  a  problem.  I  have  won- 
dered, during  the  last  hour  or  so,  whether  you  can 
be  perfectly  sane,  Wingate.  What  good  can  you 
expect  to  do  by  this  brigandage?  " 

"  The  very  word  *  brigandage ',"  Wingate  ob- 
served, with  a  smile,  "  suggests  my  answer  —  ran- 
som." 

"  But  you  can't  want  money?  "  Phipps  protested. 

"  You  know  what  I  want,"  was  the  stern  rejoinder. 
"  You  and  I  have  already  discussed  it  when  you  came 
to  see  me  about  that  young  man." 

Phipps  laughed  uneasily. 

"  I  remember  some  preposterous  suggestion  about 
selling  wheat,"  he  admitted.  "If  you  think,  how- 
ever, that  you  can  alter  our  entire  business  princi- 
ples by  a  piece  of  foolery  like  this,  you  are  making 
the  mistake  of  your  life." 

"  We  are  wasting  time,"  Wingate  declared  a  little 
shortly.  "  It  is  better  that  we  have  a  complete 


242  THE  PROFITEERS 

understanding.  Get  this  into  your  head,"  he  went 
on,  drawing  a  long,  ugly-looking  pistol  from  his 
trousers  pocket,  and  displaying  it.  "  This  is  the 
finest  automatic  pistol  in  the  world,  and  I  am  one  of 
the  best  marksmen  in  the  American  Army.  I  shall 
leave  you,  for  the  present,  ungagged,  but  if  rescue 
comes  to  you  by  any  efforts  of  your  own,  I  give  you 
my  word  of  honour  as  an  American  gentleman  that  I 
shall  shoot  the  three  of  you  and  be  proud  of  my 
night's  work." 

"  And  swing  for  it  afterwards,"  Dredlinton  threat- 
ened. "  The  man's  mad !  " 

"  The  man  is  in  earnest,"  Phipps  growled. 
"  That  much,  at  least,  I  think  we  can  grant  him. 
What  is  the  meaning  of  that  piece  of  mummery, 
Wingate  ?  "  he  added,  pointing  to  the  loaf  of  bread. 
"  What  are  your  terms  ?  You  must  state  them, 
sooner  or  later.  Let  us  have  them  now." 

"  Agreed,"  Wingate  replied.  "  The  costs  of  that 
loaf  is,  I  believe,  to  be  exact,  one  and  tenpence 
ha-penny  —  one  and  tenpence  ha'penny  to  poor 
people  whose  staple  food  it  is.  When  you  sign  an 
authority  to  sell  wheat  in  sufficient  bulk  to  bring  the 
cost  down  to  sixpence,  you  can  have  the  loaf  and  go 
as  soon  as  the  sale  is  finished.  You  will  find  here," 
he  went  on,  laying  a  document  upon  the  table,  "  a 
calculation  which  may  help  you.  Your  approximate 


THE  PROFITEERS  243 

holdings  of  wheat  may  be  exaggerated  a  trifle,  al- 
though these  lists  came  from  some  one  in  your  own 
office,  but  I  think  you  will  find  that  the  figures  there 
will  be  of  assistance  to  you  when  you  decide  to  give 
the  word." 

"  Let  me  get  this  clearly  into  my  head,"  Phipps 
begged,  after  a  moment's  amazed  silence,  "  without 
the  possibility  of  any  mistake.  You  mean  that  we 
are  to  sell  wheat  at  about  sixty  per  cent,  less  than 
the  present  market  value  —  in  many  cases  sixty  per 
cent,  less  than  we  gave  for  it?  " 

"  That,  I  imagine,  will  be  about  the  position," 
Wingate  admitted. 

"  The  man  is  a  fool !  "  Rees  snarled.  "  It  would 
mean  ruin." 

Wingate  remained  impassive. 

"  The  British  and  Imperial  Granaries,  Limited," 
he  said,  "  has  been  responsible  for  the  ruin  of  a  good 
many  people.  It  is  time  now  that  the  pendulum 
swung  the  other  way. —  Come,  make  up  your 
minds." 

"What  if  we  refuse?"  Dredlinton  asked. 

"  You  will  be  made  a  little  more  secure,"  Wingate 
explained,  "your  gags  fastened,  and  your  arms 
corded  to  the  backs  of  the  chairs." 

"But  for  how  long?" 

"  Until  you  give  the  word." 


244  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  And  supposing  we  never  give  the  word?  "  Stan- 
ley Rees  demanded. 

"  Then  you  sit  there,"  Wingate  replied,  "  until 
you  die." 

Dredlinton  glanced  covertly  across  at  Phipps, 
and,  finding  no  inspiration  there,  turned  to  Win- 
gate.  The  light  of  an  evil  imagining  shone  in  his 
eyes. 

"  This  is  a  matter  which  we  ought  to  discuss  in 
private  conference,"  he  said  slowly.  "  What  do  you 
think,  Phipps?" 

"  I  agree  —  " 

"  I  am  afraid,"  Wingate  interrupted  suavely, 
"  that  Mr.  Phipps'  views  will  not  affect  the  situa- 
tion. You  three  gentlemen  are  my  treasured  and 
honoured  guests.  I  shah1  not  desert  you  —  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  I  shall  scarcely  leave  you,  except  upon 
your  own  business  —  until  your  decision  is  made." 

"  Guests  be  damned ! "  Dredlinton  exclaimed. 
"  It's  my  house  —  not  yours  !  " 

"  Mine  for  a  short  time  by  appropriation,"  Win- 
gate  answered,  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  Supposing,"  Rees  suggested,  "  we  were  induced 
to  knuckle  under,  to  become  the  victims  of  your 
damned  blackmailing  scheme,  surely  then  one  of  us 
would  be  allowed  to  go  down  to  the  City  on  parole, 
eh?" 


THE  PROFITEERS  245 

Wingate  shook  his  head. 

"  I  regret  to  say  that  I  should  not  feel  justified 
in  letting  one  of  you  out  of  my  sight.  In  the  event 
of  your  seeing  reason,  the  telephone  will  be  at  your 
disposal,  and  a  verbal  message  by  its  means  could  be 
confirmed  by  all  three  of  you.  I  imagine  that  your 
office  would  sell  on  such  instructions." 

Phipps,  who  had  been  sitting  during  the  last  few 
minutes  in  a  state  almost  of  torpor,  began  to  show 
signs  of  his  old  vigorous  self.  He  shook  his  head 
firmly. 

"  This  is  a  matter  which  need  not  be  discussed," 
he  declared.  "  You  have  taken  our  breath  away, 
Wingate.  Your  amazing  assurance  has  made  it 
difficult  for  us  to  answer  you  coherently.  I  am  only 
now  beginning  to  realise  that  you  are  in  earnest  in 
this  idiotic  piece  of  melodrama,  but  if  you  are  —  so 
are  we. —  You  can  starve  us  or  shoot  us  or  suffo- 
cate us,  but  we  shall  not  sell  wheat. —  By  God,  we 
shan't!" 

The  man  seemed  for  a  moment  to  swell, —  his  eyes 
to  flash  fire.  Wingate  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  I  accept  your  defiance,"  he  announced.  "  Let  us 
commence  our  tryst." 

Dredlinton  struck  the  table  with  his  fist.  Phipps' 
brave  words  seemed  to  have  struck  an  alien  note  of 
fear  in  his  fellow  prisoner. 


246  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  will  not  submit!  "  he  exclaimed.  "'My  health 
will  not  stand  it !  —  Phipps  !  —  Rees  !  " 

There  was  meaning  in  his  eyes  as  well  as  in  his 
tone,  a  meaning  which  Phipps  put  brutally  into 
words. 

"  It's  no  good,  Dredlinton,"  he  warned  him.  "  We 
are  going  to  stick  it  out,  and  you've  got  to  stick  it 
out  with  us.  But,"  he  added,  glaring  at  Wingate, 
"  remember  this.  Only  half  an  hour  before  I  was 
taken,  Scotland  Yard  rang  up  to  tell  me  that  they 
thought  they  had  a  clue  as  to  Stanley's  disappear- 
ance. You  risk  five  years'  penal  servitude  by  this 
freak." 

"  I  am  content,"  was  the  cool  reply. 
"  But  I  am  not !  "  Dredlinton  shouted,  straining  at 
his  cords.     "  I  resign !     I  resign  from  the  Board ! 
Do  you  hear  that,  Wingate?     I  chuck  it!     Set  me 
free!" 

"  The  proper  moment  for  your  resignation  from 
the  Board  of  the  British  and  Imperial  Granaries," 
Wingate  told  him  sternly,  "  was  a  matter  of  six 
months  ago.  You  are  a  little  too  late,  Dredlinton. 
Better  make  up  your  mind  to  stick  it  out  with  your 
friends." 

Dredlinton  groaned.  There  was  all  the  malice  of 
hatred  in  his  eyes,  a  note  of  despair  in  his  exclama- 
tion. 


THE  PROFITEERS  247 

"  They  are  strong  men,  those  two,"  he  muttered. 
"  They  can  stand  more  than  J  can.  I  demand  my 
freedom." 

Wingate  threw  himself  into  an  easy-chair. 

"  Endurance,"  he  observed,  "  is  largely  a  matter 
of  nerves.  You  must  make  this  a  test.  If  you  fail, 
well,  your  release  always  rests  with  your  two  friends. 
I  am  sure  they  will  not  see  you  suffer  unduly." 

Phipps  leaned  a  little  across  the  table. 

"  We  shall  suffer,"  he  said  hoarsely,  "  but  it  will 
be  for  hours.  With  you,  Wingate,  it  will  be  a  mat- 
ter of  years !  Our  turn  will  come  when  we  visit  you 
in  prison.  Damn  you !  " 


CHAPTER  XXI 

In  the  Board  room  of  the  British  and  Imperial 
Granaries,  Limited,  were  four  vacant  chairs  and  four 
unoccupied  desks,  each  of  the  latter  piled  with  a 
mass  of  letters.  Outside  was  disquietude,  in  the 
street  almost  a  riot.  Callers  were  compelled  to  form 
themselves  into  a  queue, —  and  left  with  scanty  com- 
fort. Wingate,  by  what  seemed  to  be  special  favour, 
was  passed  through  the  little  throng  and  ushered  by 
Harrison  himself  into  the  deserted  Board  room. 

"  So  you  have  no  news  of  any  of  your  directors, 
Harrison  ?  "  the  former  observed. 

"  None  whatever,  sir." 

The  two  men  exchanged  long  and  in  a  way  search- 
ing glances.  Harrison  was,  as  always,  the  lank  and 
cadaverous  nonentity,  the  man  of  negative  suspic- 
ions and  infinite  reserves.  His  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
the  carpet.  He  was  a  study  in  passivity. 

"  What  happens  to  the  business,  eh  —  to  your  big 
operations  ?  "  Wingate  enquired. 

"  The  business  suffers  to  some  extent,  of  course," 
Harrison  admitted. 

"  Your  banking  arrangements  ?  " 


THE  PROFITEERS  249 

"  I  have  limited  powers  of  signature.  So  far  the 
bank  has  been  lenient." 

"  I  see,"  Wingate  ruminated, —  and  waited. 

"  The  general  policy  of  the  firm  is,  as  you  are 
aware,  to  buy,"  Harrison  continued  thoughtfully. 
"  That  policy  has  naturally  been  suspended  during 
the  last  forty-eight  hours.  There  are  rumours,  too, 
of  a  large  shipment  of  wheat  from  an  unexpected 
source,  by  some  steamers  which  we  had  failed  to  take 
account  of.  Prices  are  dropping  every  hour." 

"Materially?" 

The  confidential  clerk  shook  his  head. 

"  Only  by  points  and  fractions.  The  market  is 
never  sure  of  our  principals.  Sometimes  when  they 
have  bought  most  largely  they  have  remained  inac- 
tive for  a  few  days  beforehand,  on  purpose  to  de- 
press prices." 

"  Do  people  believe  in  —  their  disappearance?  " 

"  Not  down  here  —  in  the  City,  I  mean,"  Harri- 
son replied  grimly.  "  To  be  frank  with  you,  the 
market  suspects  a  plant." 

"  Let  me,"  Wingate  suggested,  "  give  you  my  im- 
pression as  to  the  disappearance  of  three  of  your 
directors." 

"  It  would  be  very  interesting,"  Harrison  mur- 
mured, his  eyes  following  the  hopeless  efforts  of  a. 
huge  fly  to  escape  through  the  closed  window. 


250  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  picture  them  to  myself,"  his  visitor  went  on, 
"  as  indulging  in  a  secret  tour  through  the  north  of 
England  —  a  tour  undertaken  in  order  that  they 
may  realise  personally  whether  their  tactics  have 
really  produced  the  suffering  and  distress  reported." 

"  Ah !  " 

"  I  picture  them  convinced.  I  ask  myself  what 
would  be  their  natural  course  of  action.  Without 
a  doubt,  they  would  sell  wheat." 

"Sell  wheat,"  Harrison  repeated.     "Yes!" 

"  They  would  be  in  a  hurry,"  Wingate  continued. 
"  They  would  not  wish  to  waste  a  moment.  They 
would  probably  telephone  their  instructions." 

From  the  great  office  outside  came  the  hum  of 
many  voices,  the  shrill  summons  of  many  telephones, 
a  continued  knocking  and  shouting  at  the  locked 
door.  To  all  these  sounds  Harrison  remained 
stoically  indifferent.  He  was  studying  once  more 
the  pattern  of  the  carpet. 

"  Telephone,"  he  repeated  thoughtfully. 

"  It  would  be  sufficient,  if  you  recognized  the 
voice?  " 

"  Confirmation  —  from  a  fellow  director,  I  might 
have  to  ask  for,"  Harrison  decided. 

"Nothing  else?" 

"Nothing!" 

"  And  how  long  would  it  take  you  to  sell,  say  — " 


THE  PROFITEERS  251 

"  I  should  prefer  not  to  have  quantities  men- 
tioned," Harrison  interrupted.  "  When  we  start  to 
sell  in  a  dozen  places,  the  thing  is  beyond  exact  cal- 
culation. The  brake  can  be  put  on  if  necessary." 

"  I     understand,"     Wingate     replied  — "  but     I 
should  think  it  probable,  if  the  truth  dawns  upon 
our   friends  —  that   no   brake   will   be   necessary. — 
As  regards  your  own  affairs,  Harrison?  " 
"  I  received  your  letter  last  night,  sir." 
"  You  found  its  contents  satisfactory?  " 
"  I  found  them  generous,  sir." 
Wingate  took  up  his  hat  and  stick  a  moment  or  so 
later. 

"  My  visit  here,"  he  remarked,  "  might  easily  be 
misconstrued.  Would  it  be  possible  for  me  to  leave 
without  fighting  my  way  through  that  mob  ?  " 

Harrison  led  the  way  through  an  inner  room  to  a 
door  opening  out  upon  a  passage.  Dark  buildings 
frowned  down  upon  them  from  either  side.  The 
place  was  a  curious  little  oasis  from  the  noonday 
heat.  In  the  distance  was  a  narrow  vista  of  pass- 
ing men  and  vehicles.  Harrison  stood  there  with  the 
handle  of  the  door  in  his  hand.  There  was  no  fare- 
well between  him  and  his  departing  visitor,  no  sign 
of  intelligence  in  his  inscrutable  face. 

"  Presuming  that  the  disappearance  of  Mr. 
Phipps,  Mr.  Rees  and  Lord  Dredlinton  is  accounted 


252  THE  PROFITEERS 

for  by  this  supposed  journey  to  the  North,"  he  ven- 
tured, "  when  should  you  imagine  that  they  might  be 
communicating  with  me?  " 

"  About  dawn  to-morrow,"  Wingate  replied. 
"  You  will  be  here." 

"  I  never  leave,"  was  the  quiet  answer.  "  About 
dawn  to-morrow?  " 

"  Or  before." 

Josephine  asked  the  same  question  in  a  different 
manner  when  Wingate  entered  her  little  sitting  room 
&  few  hours  later. 

"  They  are  obstinate?  "  she  enquired  curiously. 

He  sipped  the  tea  which  she  had  handed  to  him. 

"Very,"  he  admitted,  "yet,  after  all,  why  not? 
If  we  succeed,  it  is,  at  any  rate,  the  end  of  their  pri- 
vate fortunes,  of  Phipps'  ambitions  and  your  hus- 
band's dreams  of  wealth." 

"  So  much  the  better,"  she  declared  sadly. 
*'  More  money  with  Henry  has  only  meant  a  greater 
eagerness  to  get  rid  of  it." 

A  companionship  which  had  no  need  of  words 
seemed  to  have  sprung  up  between  them.  They  sat 
together  for  some  minutes  without  speech,  minutes 
during  which  the  deep  silence  which  reigned  through- 
out the  house  seemed  curiously  accentuated. 
Josephine  shivered. 

"  I  shall  never  know  what  happiness  is,"  she  de- 


THE  PROFITEERS 

clared,  "  until  I  have  left  this  house  —  never  to  re- 
turn !  " 

"That  will  not  be  long,"  he  reminded  her 
gravely. 

She  placed  her  hand  on  his. 

"  It  is  full  of  the  ghosts  of  my  sorrows,"  she  went 
on.  "  I  have  known  misery  here." 

"And  I  one  evening  of  happiness,"  he  said, 
smiling. 

Her  eyes  glowed  for  a  moment,  but  she  was  dis- 
turbed, tremulous,  agitated. 

"  I  listen  for  footsteps  in  the  streets,"  she  con- 
fessed. "  I  am  afraid !  " 

"  Needlessly,"  he  assured  her.  "  I  know  for  a 
fact  that  Shields  is  off  the  scent." 

"  But  he  is  not  a  fool,"  she  answered  hastily. 

Wingate's  smile  was  full  of  confidence. 

"  Dear,"  he  said,  "  I  do  not  believe  that  you  have 
anything  to  fear.  There  have  been  no  loose  ends 
left.  Behind  your  front  door  is  safety." 

"  The  man  Shields  —  I  only  saw  him  for  a  few 
minutes,  but  he  impressed  me,"  she  sighed. 

"  Shields  is,  without  doubt,  a  capable  person," 
Wingate  admitted,  "  but  he  could  only  succeed  in 
this  case  by  blind  guessing.  Stanley  Rees  was- 
brought  into  this  house  through  the  mews,  without 
observation  from  any  living  person.  Phipps,  when 


254  THE  PROFITEERS 

he  received  that  supposed  message  from  you,  was 
only  too  anxious  to  come  the  same  way.  They  left 
their  respective  abodes  for  here  in  a  secrecy  which 
they  themselves  encouraged,  for  Rees  imagined  that 
your  husband  had  urgent  need  of  him,  and  Phipps 
was  ass  enough  to  believe  that  your  summons  meant 
what  he  wished  it  to  mean.  There  has  been  no  leak- 
age of  information  anywhere. —  Honestly,  Jose- 
phine, I  think  that  you  may  banish  your  fears." 

"  A  woman's  fears  only,  dear,"  she  admitted,  as 
she  gave  him  her  hands.  "  Why  did  nature  make 
my  sex  pessimists  and  yours  optimists,  I  wonder? 
I  would  so  much  rather  look  towards  the  sun." 

"  Soon,"  he  promised  her  with  a  smile,  "  I  shall 
dominate  your  subconscious  mind.  You  shall  see 
the  colours  of  life  through  my  eyes.  You  will  find 
your  long-delayed  happiness." 

The  tears  which  stood  in  her  eyes  were  of  unal- 
loyed content, —  the  drama  so  close  at  hand  was 
forgotten.  Their  hands  remained  clasped  for  a 
moment.  Then  he  left  her. 

Back  into  that  room  with  its  strange  mystery  of 
shadows,  its  odour  of  mingled  tragedy  and  absurd- 
ity. Grant  rose  from  a  high-backed  chair  guard- 
ing the  table,  as  Wingate  approached.  The  latter 
glanced  towards  the  three  men  crouching  around 
the  table.  Their  white  faces  gleamed  weirdly 


THE  PROFITEERS  255 

against  the  background  of  shaded  light.  There 
were  black  lines  under  Dredlinton's  eyes.  He  made 
a  gurgling  effort  at  speech, —  his  muttered  words 
were  only  partly  coherent. 

"  I  resign !     I  resign !  " 

Wingate  shook  his  head. 

"  I  am  afraid,  Lord  Dredlinton,"  he  said,  "  that 
you  are  in  the  hands  of  your  fellow  directors.  One 
may  not  be  released  without  the  others.  Directly 
you  can  induce  Mr.  Phipps  and  Mr.  Rees  to  see  rea- 
son, you  will  all  three  be  restored  to  liberty.  Until 
then  I  am  afraid  that  you  must  share  the  inevitable 
inconveniences  connected  with  your  enforced  stay 
here." 

Phipps  lurched  towards  him  with  a  furious  ges- 
ture. Wingate  only  smiled  as  he  threw  himself 
into  his  easy-chair. 

"Wheat  is  falling  very  slowly,"  he  announced. 
"  Every  one  is  waiting  for  the  B.  &  I.  to  sell.— 
You  can  go  now,  Grant,"  he  added,  "  I  will  take  up 
the  watch  myself." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Wingate,  notwithstanding  his  iron  nerve,  awoke 
with  a  start,  in  the  grey  of  the  following  morning, 
to  find  his  heart  pounding  against  his  ribs  and  a  chill 
sense  of  horror  stealing  into  his  brain.     Nothing 
had  happened  or  was   happening  except  that   one 
cry, —  the  low,  awful  cry  of  a  man  in  agony.     He 
sat  up,  switched  on  the  electric  light  by  his  side  and 
gazed  at  the  round  table,  his  fingers  clenched  around 
the  butt  of  his  pistol.     Dredlinton,  from  whom  had 
come    the    sound,    had    fallen    with    his    head    and 
shoulders   upon  the   table.     His  face  was  invisible, 
only  there  crept  from  his  hidden  lips  a  faint  repe- 
tition of  the  cry, —  the  hideous  sob,  it  might  have 
been,  as  of  a  spirit  descending  into  hell.     Then  there 
was   silence.     Phipps  was   sitting  bolt  upright,  his 
eyes   wide   open,   motionless   but   breathing  heavily. 
He  seemed  to  be  in  a  state  of  coma,  neither  wholly 
asleep  nor  wholly  conscious.     Rees  was  leaning  as 
far  back  in  his  chair  as  his  cords  permitted.     His 
patch  of  high  colour  had  gone;  there  was  an  ugly 
twist  to  his  mouth,  a  livid  tinge  in  his  complexion, 
but  nevertheless  he  slept.     Wingate  rose  to  his  feet 


THE  PROFITEERS  257 

and  watched.  Phipps  seemed  keyed  up  to  suffer- 
ing. Dredlinton  showed  no  sign.  Their  gaoler 
strolled  up  to  the  table. 

"  There  is  the  bread  there,  Phipps,"  he  said,  "  a 
breakfast  tray  outside  and  some  coffee.  How  goes 
it?" 

Phipps  turned  his  leaden  face.  His  eyes  glowed 
dully. 

"  Go  to  hell !  "  he  muttered. 

Wingate  returned  to  his  place,  lit  and  smoked  a 
pipe  and  dozed  off  again.  When  he  opened  his  eyes, 
the  sunlight  was  streaming  in  through  a  chink  in 
the  closed  curtains.  He  looked  towards  the  table. 
Dredlinton  had  not  moved ;  Rees  was  crying  quietly, 
like  a  child.  An  unhealthy-looking  perspiration  had 
broken  out  on  Phipps'  face. 

"  Really,"  Wingate  remarked,  "  you  are  all  giv- 
ing yourselves  an  unnecessary  amount  of  suffer- 
ing." 

Phipps  spoke  the  fateful  words  after  two  inef- 
fectual efforts.  His  syllables  sounded  hard  and  de- 
tached. 

"  We  give  in,"  he  faltered.     "  We  sell." 

"  Capital !  "  Wingate  exclaimed,  rising  promptly 
to  his  feet.  "  Come !  In  ten  minutes  you  shall  be 
drinking  coffee  or  wine  —  whichever  you  fancy. 
We  will  hurry  this  little  affair  through." 


258  THE  PROFITEERS 

He  crossed  the  room,  opened  a  cupboard  and 
brought  a  telephone  instrument  to  the  table. 

"City   1000,"   he   began.— "  Yes !  —  British    and 

Imperial Right!     Mr.    Harrison   there?  —  Ask 

him  to  come  to  the  'phone,  please. —  Harrison  ? 
Good !  Wait  a  moment.  Mr.  Phipps  will  speak  to 
you." 

Wingate  held  the  telephone  before  the  half-uncon- 
scious man.  Phipps  swayed  towards  it. 

"Yes?  That  Harrison  ?— Mr.  Phipps. —  No, 
it's  quite  all  right.  We've  been  away,  Mr.  Rees 
and  I.  We've  decided  —  " 

He  reeled  a  little  in  his  chair.  Wingate  poured 
some  brandy  from  his  flask  into  the  little  metal  cup 
and  held  it  out.  Phipps  drank  it  greedily. 

"  Go  on  now." 

"  We  have  decided,"  Phipps  continued,  "  to  sell 
wheat  —  to  sell,  you  understand  ?  You  are  to  tele- 
phone Liverpool,  Manchester,  Lincoln,  Glasgow, 
Bristol  and  Cardiff.  Establish  the  price  of  sixty 
shillings. —  Yes,  that's  right  —  sixty  shillings. — 
What  is  that  you  say?  —  You  want  confirmation? 
—  Mr.  Rees  will  speak." 

Wingate  passed  the  telephone  to  the  next  man; 
also  his  flask,  which  he  held  for  a  moment  to  his  lips. 
Rees  gurgled  greedily.  His  voice  sounded  strained, 
however,  and  cracked. 


THE  PROFITEERS  259 

"  Mr.  Rees  speaking,  Harrison. —  Yes,  we  are 
back.  We'll  be  around  at  the  office  later  on.  You 
got  Mr.  Phipps'  message  ?  —  We've  made  up  our 
minds  to  sell  wheat  —  sell  it.  What  the  devil  does 
it  matter  to  you  why  ?  We  are  selling  it  to  save  — 

Wingate's  pistol  had  stolen  from  his  pocket. 
Rees  glared  at  it  for  a  moment  and  then  went  on. 

"  To  save  an  injunction  from  the  Government. 
We  have  private  information.  They  have  de- 
termined to  find  our  dealings  in  wheat  illegal. —  Yes, 
Mr.  Phipps  meant  what  he  said  —  sixty  shillings. — 
Use  all  our  long-distance  wires.  How  long  will  it 
take  you?  —  A  quarter  of  an  hour?  —  Eh?  " 

Wingate  held  the  instrument  away  for  a  moment. 

"  You  will  have  your  breakfast,"  he  promised, 
"  immediately  the  reply  comes." 

"  A  quarter  of  an  hour?  "  Rees  went  on.  "  Non- 
sense! Try  and  do  it  in  five  minutes. —  Yes,  our 
whole  stock.  When  you've  got  the  message  through, 
ring  us  up. —  Where  are  we?  Why,  at  Lord  Dred- 
linton's  house.  Don't  be  longer  than  you  can  help. 
Put  a  different  person  on  each  line. —  What's  that?  " 

Rees  turned  his  head. 

"  He  wants  to  know  again,"  he  said,  "  how  much 
to  sell.  Let  me  say  half  our  stock.  That  will  be 
sufficient  to  ruin  us.  It  will  bring  the  price  of  that 
damned  loaf  of  yours  —  " 


260  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  The  whole  stock,"  Wingate  interrupted,  "  every 
bushel." 

"  Sell  the  whole  stock,"  Rees  repeated  wearily. 

Wingate  replaced  the  telephone  upon  a  distant 
table.  Then  he  mixed  a  little  brandy  and  water  in 
two  glasses,  broke  off  a  piece  of  bread,  set  it  before 
the  two  men  and  rang  the  bell.  It  was  answered  in 
an  incredibly  short  space  of  time. 

"  Grant,"  he  directed,  "  bring  in  the  breakfast 
trays  in  ten  minutes." 

The  man  disappeared  as  silently  as  he  had  come, 
Wingate  cut  the  knots  and  released  the -hands  of  his 
two  prisoners.  Their  fingers  were  numb  and  help- 
less, however.  Rees  picked  up  the  bread  with  his 
teeth  from  the  table.  Phipps  tried  but  failed. 
Wingate  held  the  tumbler  of  brandy  and  water  once 
more  to  his  lips. 

"  Here,  take  this,"  he  invited.  "  You'll  find  the 
circulation  come  back  all  right  directly." 

"  Aren't  you  going  to  give  him  anything? " 
Phipps  asked,  moving  his  head  towards  Dredlinton. 

"  He  is  asleep,"  Wingate  answered.  "  Better 
leave  him  alone  until  breakfast  is  ready." 

The  telephone  bell  tinkled.  Wingate  brought 
back  the  instrument  and  held  out  a  receiver  each  to 
Phipps  and  his  nephew. 

"  Harrison    speaking.     Your   messages    have    all 


THE  PROFITEERS  261 

gone  through  on  the  trunk  lines,  sir.  The  sales 
have  begun  already,  and  the  whole  market  is  in  a 
state  of  collapse.  If  you  are  coming  down,  I  should 
advise  you,  sir,  to  come  in  by  the  back  entrance. 
There'll  be  a  riot  here  when  the  news  gets  about." 

Wingate  removed  the  telephone  once  more. 

"And  now,"  he  suggested,  "you  would  like  a 
wash,  perhaps?  Or  first  we'd  better  wake  Dredlin- 
ton." 

He  leaned  over  and  touched  the  crouching  form 
upon  the  shoulder.  There  was  no  response. 

"  Dredlinton,"  he  said  firmly,  "  wake  up.  Your 
vigil  is  over." 

Again  there  was  no  response.  Wingate  leaned 
over  and  lifted  him  up  bodily  by  both  shoulders. 
Rees  went  off  into  a  fit  of  idiotic  laughter.  Phipps 
stretched  out  his  hands  before  his  eyes.  It  was  a 
terrible  sight  upon  which  they  looked, —  Dredlin- 
ton's  face  like  a  piece  of  marble,  white  to  the  lips, 
the  eyes  open  and  staring,  the  unmistakable  finger 
of  Death  written  across  it. 

"  He's  gone !  "  Rees  choked.     "  He's  gone !  " 

Phipps  suddenly  found  vigour  once  more  in  his 
arm.  He  struck  the  table.  There  was  a  note  of 
triumph  in  his  brazen  tone. 

"My  God,  Wingate,"  he  cried,  "you've  killed 
him !  You'll  swing  for  this  job,  after  all ! '' 


262  THE  PROFITEERS 

There  followed  a  few  moments  of  tense  and  awe- 
struck silence.  Then  an  evil  smile  parted  Rees' 
lips,  and  he  looked  at  Wingate  with  triumphant 
malice. 

"  This  is  murder !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  So  your  excellent  uncle  has  already  intimated," 
Wingate  replied.  "  I  am  sorry  that  it  has  hap- 
pened, of  course.  As  for  the  consequences,  however, 
I  do  not  fear  them." 

He  crossed  the  room  and  rang  the  bell.  Once 
more  a  servant  in  plain  clothes  made  his  appearance 
with  phenomenal  quickness. 

"  Send  to  her  ladyship's  room,"  Wingate  directed, 
"  and  enquire  the  name  and  address  of  Lord  Dred- 
linton's  doctor.  Let  him  be  fetched  here  at  once. 
Tell  two  of  the  others  to  come  down.  Lord  Dredlin- 
ton  must  be  carried  into  his  bedroom." 

The  man  had  scarcely  left  the  room  before  the 
door  was  opened  again  and  Grant  himself  appeared. 
This  time  he  closed  the  door  behind  him  and  came  a 
little  way  towards  Wingate. 

"  Inspector  Shields  is  here,  sir,"  he  announced  in 
an  agitated  whisper. 

Wingate  stood  for  a  moment  as  though  turned 
to  stone. 

"  Inspector  Shields  ?  "  he  repeated.  "  What  does 
he  want?" 


THE  PROFITEERS  263 

"  He  wants  to  see  Lord  Dredlinton.  I  explained 
that  it  was  an  inconvenient  time,  but  he  insisted 
upon  waiting." 

Wingate  hesitated  for  a  moment,  deep  in  thought. 
The  two  exhausted  men  chuckled  hideously. 

"Some  playing  cards,"  Wingate  directed,  sud- 
denly breaking  into  speech.  "  Open  that  sideboard, 
Grant.  Bring  out  the  sandwiches  and  biscuits  and 
fruit.  That's  right.  And  some  glasses.  Open 
the  champagne  quickly.  Cigars,  too.  Here- 
shut  the  door.  We  must  have  a  moment  or  two  at 
this.  You  understand,  Grant  —  a  debauch !  " 

The  two  moved  about  like  lightning.  In  an  in- 
credibly short  time,  the  room  presented  a  strange 
appearance.  The  table  before  which  the  three  men 
had  kept  their  weary  vigil  was  littered  all  over  with 
playing  cards,  cigar  ash,  fragments  of  broken  wine 
glasses.  A  half-empty  bottle  of  champagne  stood 
on  the  floor.  Two  empty  ones,  their  contents  emp- 
tied into  some  bowls  of  flowers,  lay  on  their  sides. 
Another  pack  of  cards  was  scattered  upon  the  car- 
pet. A  chair  was  overturned.  There  was  every 
indication  of  a  late-night  sitting  and  a  debauch. 
Last  of  all,  Grant  and  Wingate  between  them  carried 
the  body  of  Lord  Dredlinton  behind  the  screen  and 
laid  it  upon  the  sofa.  Then  the  latter  stood  back 
and  surveyed  his  work. 


264  THE  PROFITEERS 

"That  will  do,"  he  said.  "Wait  one  moment, 
Grant,  before  you  show  the  inspector  in.  I  have  a 
word  to  say  first  to  my  two  friends  here." 

Phipps  scowled  across  the  table,  heavy-eyed  and 
sullen.  There  were  black  lines  under  his  eyes,  in 
which  the  gleam  of  hunger  still  lurked.  His  hands 
were  gripping  a  chunk  of  the  bread  which  he  had 
torn  away  from  the  loaf,  but  which  he  had  seemed  to 
eat  with  difficulty. 

"  Your  friends  may  have  something  to  say  to 
you,"  he  muttered.  "  If  you  think  to  stop  our 
tongues,  you're  wrong  —  wrong,  I  tell  you.  The 
game's  up  for  you,  Wingate.  The  wires  that  are 
ruining  us  this  morning  will  be  telling  of  your  ar- 
rest to-night,  eh  ?  " 

"  You  may  be  right,"  Wingate  answered  coolly, 
"  but  I  doubt  it.  Listen.  Do  you  believe  that  I 
am  a  man  who  keeps  his  word?  " 

"  Go  on,"  Phipps  muttered. 

"  You  are  quite  right  in  all  that  you  have  been 
saying,  up  to  a  certain  point.  Tell  the  truth  and 
I  am  done  for,  but  you  pay  the  price,  both  of  you. 
Under  those  circumstances,  will  it  be  worth  your 
while  to  tell  the  truth?  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  Rees  demanded. 

Phipps  made  a  movement  to  rise. 

"  I  am  faint,"  he  cried.     "  Give  me  some  wine." 


THE  PROFITEERS  265 

Wingate  filled  two  tumblers  with  champagne  and 
gave  one  to  each.  The  effect  upon  Phipps  was  re- 
markable. The  colour  came  back  into  his  cheeks, 
his  tone  gathered  strength. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  echoed.  "  Worth  our 
while?  —  Why  the  devil  don't  they  bring  the  man 
in?  You'll  see!" 

"  Inspector  Shields  will  no  doubt  insist  upon  com- 
ing in,"  Wingate  replied.  "  I  gather  from  his  visit 
that  he  is  on  the  right  track  at  last.  But  listen. 
If  I  am  going  to  be  arrested  on  a  charge  of  abduc- 
tion and  manslaughter,  as  seems  exceedingly  prob- 
able, I  am  not  going  to  leave  my  job  half  done.  An 
English  jury  may  call  it  murder  if  I  shoot  you  two 
as  you  sit.  I'll  risk  that.  If  I  am  going  to  get 
into  trouble  for  one  of  you,  I'll  make  sure  of  the 
lot." 

His  voice  carried  conviction.  The  two  men  stared 
at  him.  Rees,  who  had  been  gnawing  at  a  crust  of 
bread,  swallowed  thickly,  drained  his  glass  and 
staggered  to  his  feet. 

"  You  wouldn't  dare !  "  he  scoffed. 

"  You  underestimate  my  courage,"  Wingate  as- 
sured them  with  a  smile.  "  See,  I  will  speak  to  you 
words  which  I  swear  are  as  true  as  any  to  which  you 
have  ever  listened.  I  hear  the  footsteps  of  the  in- 
spector. If  you  fail  for  a  single  second  to  corrob- 


266  THE  PROFITEERS 

orate  the  story  which  I  shall  tell  him,  I  shall  shoot 
you  both  and  possibly  myself.  Look  at  me,  both  of 
you.  You  know  I  have  the  courage  to  do  it.  You 
know  I  shall  do  it. —  That's  all." 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door.  Grant  opened  it 
and  stood  on  one  side. 

"  Inspector  Shields  has  called,"  he  announced. 
"  I  thought  you  might  like  to  have  a  word  with  him, 
sir." 


CHAPTER  XXIH 

The  inspector  blinked  for  a  moment.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  room,  with  its  closely  drawn  curtains 
and  air  of  dissipation,  was  certainly  strange.  Win- 
gate  advanced  to  meet  him. 

"  You  called  to  see  Lord  Dredlinton,  I  believe, 
Inspector,"  he  began.  "  My  name  is  Wingate.  I 
am  —  a  friend  of  the  family." 

"  I  understood  that  Lord  Dredlinton  was  here," 
the  inspector  announced,  looking  around. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  Wingate  informed  him 
gravely,  "  that  a  very  terrible  thing  has  happened. 
Lord  Dredlinton  died  suddenly  in  this  room,  only  a 
few  minutes  ago.  His  body  is  upon  the  sofa  there." 

The  imperturbability  of  the  inspector  was  not 
proof  against  such  an  amazing  statement. 

"  Good  God !  "  he  exclaimed.     "  Was  he  ill?  " 

"  Not  that  we  know  of,"  Wingate  replied.  "  The 
doctor,  who  is  on  his  way  here,  will  doubtless  be  able 
to  inform  us  upon  that  point.  I  have  always  un- 
derstood that  his  heart  was  scarcely  sound." 

The  inspector,  as  he  stepped  forward  towards  the 


268  THE  PROFITEERS 

couch,  with  Wingate  a  yard  or  two  in  front  of  him, 
for  the  first  time  recognised  the  two  men  who  sat  at 
the  table,  looking  at  him  so  strangely.  Rees'  hands 
were  in  his  pockets,  his  tie  had  come  undone,  his  hair 
was  ruffled.  He  had  all  the  appearance  of  a  man 
recovering  from  a  wild  debauch.  Phipps'  waistcoat 
was  unbuttoned,  and  his  eyes,  in  the  gathering  light, 
were  streaked  with  blood. 

"  Mr.  Rees  !  "  the  inspector  exclaimed.  "  And 
Mr.  Phipps !  Here  ?  Why,  I've  a  dozen  men  all 
over  the  country  looking  for  you  two  gentlemen !  " 

There  was  a  dead  silence.  Wingate's  hand  had 
stolen  into  his  pocket,  in  which  there  was  a  little 
bulge.  Rees  seemed  about  to  speak,  then  checked 
himself.  He  glanced  towards  Phipps, —  Phipps, 
whose  hands  were  clasped  together  as  though  he 
were  in  pain. 

"  The  wanderers  returned,"  Wingate  explained, 
with  a  smile.  "  Lord  Dredlinton,  as  you  know,  In- 
spector, has  been  very  much  worried  by  the  supposed 
disappearance  of  his  fellow  directors.  They  turned 
up  here  last  night  unexpectedly.  It  seems  that  they 
have  been  all  the  time  up  in  the  North  of  England, 
making  some  investigations  connected  with  the  ener- 
gies of  their  company.  Their  sudden  return  was 
naturally  a  great  relief  to  Lord  Dredlinton.  We  all 
celebrated  —  perhaps  a  little  too  well.  Since  then 


THE  PROFITEERS  269 

I  am  afraid  we  must  also  plead  guilty,"  Wingate 
went  on,  "  to  a  rather  wild  night,  which  has  ended, 
as  you  see,  in  tragedy." 

The  inspector  bent  down  and  examined  Lord 
Dredlinton's  body. 

'  The  doctor  is  on  his  way  here,"  Wingate  con- 
tinued. "  He  will  inform  us,  no  doubt,  as  to  the 
cause  of  death.  Lord  Dredlinton  looked  very  ex- 
hausted many  times  during  the  night  —  or  rather 
the  morning  —  " 

"  I  am  to  understand,"  Shields  interrupted 
quietly,  "  that,  overjoyed  by  the  return  of  his 
friends,  Lord  Dredlinton,  Mr.  Phipps,  Mr.  Rees  and 
yourself  indulged  forthwith  in  a  debauch?  A  great 
deal  of  wine  was  drunk  ?  " 

"  A  great  deal,"  Wingate  admitted. 

"  Supper,  I  see,  has  been  served  here,"  the  in- 
spector went  on,  "  and  you  have  played  cards." 

"  Poker,"  Wingate  assented.  "  Lord  Dredlinton 
preferred  bridge  but  we  rather  overruled  him." 

Shields  turned  towards  the  two  men,  who  had  been 
silent  listeners.  In  his  face  there  seemed  to  be  some 
desire  for  corroboration. 

"  You  two  gentlemen  were  present  when  Lord 
Dredlinton  died?  "  he  asked. 

"  We  were,"  Phipps  replied,  after  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation. 


270  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  We  believed  that  it  was  a  faint,"  Rees  observed. 
"  Even  now  it  seems  impossible  to  believe  that  he  is 
dead." 

"  Dead !  —  My  God !  "  Phipps  repeated,  wiping 
the  sweat  from  his  forehead. 

"  Nothing  else  transpired  during  the  evening," 
the  inspector  continued,  "  likely  to  have  proved  a 
shock  to  his  lordship?  " 

"  Nothing,"  Phipps  declared  hoarsely.  "  We 
must  have  been  playing  for  a  great  many  hours." 

"  I  am  a  strong  man,"  Rees  added,  "and  the 
youngest  of  the  party,  but  I  too  —  feel  faint." 

"  It  seems  a  little  strange,  Mr.  Wingate," 
Shields  remarked,  turning  towards  him,  "  that  you 
yourself  show  not  the  slightest  signs  of  fatigue." 

Wingate  smiled  grimly. 

"  I  neither  drink  nor  smoke  to  excess,"  he  ex- 
plained, "  and  as  a  rule  I  keep  regular  hours.  Per- 
haps that  is  why,  if  I  choose  to  sit  up  all  night,  I  am 
able  to  stand  it." 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door  and  Grant  pre- 
sented himself.  To  all  appearance  he  was,  as  ever, 
the  perfect  butler.  It  was  only  Wingate  who  saw 
that  quick,  questioning  look,  the  hovering  of  his 
hand  about  his  pocket;  who  knew  that,  if  necessary, 
there  was  no  risk  which  this  man  would  not  run. 

"  The  doctor  has  arrived,  sir,"  he  announced. 


THE  PROFITEERS  271 

"  You  had  better  show  him  in,"  Wingate  replied. 
"  And,  Grant." 

"Yes,  sir?" 

"  It  would  be  as  well,  I  think,  to  let  her  ladyship 
be  informed  that  Lord  Dredlinton  is  ill  —  very  ill." 

The  man  bowed  and  stood  on  one  side  as  the  doc- 
tor entered.  The  latter  paused  for  a  moment  in  as- 
tonishment as  he  looked  upon  the  scene.  Then 
he  moved  towards  one  of  the  windows  and  threw  it 
up. 

"  If  Lord  Dredlinton  has  been  sitting  for  long  in 
an  atmosphere  like  this,"  he  observed  drily,  "  it's 
enough  to  have  killed  him." 

He  glanced  around  with  an  air  of  distaste  at 
Phipps  and  Rees,  at  the  debris  of  the  presumed  de- 
bauch, and  stooped  over  the  body  stretched  upon  the 
sofa.  His  examination  lasted  barely  a  minute. 
Then  he  rose  to  his  feet. 

"  Lord  Dredlinton  is  dead,"  he  announced  in  a 
shocked  tone. 

"  I  feared  so,"  Wingate  murmured. 

"Will  you  call  in  some  servants?"  the  doctor 
went  on.  "  I  should  like  the  body  carried  into  his 
lordship's  bedroom  at  once." 

Grant  appeared,  quickly  followed  by  two  of  his 
subordinates.  The  melancholy  little  procession  left 
the  room,  and  Shields  turned  to  follow  it.  As  he 


272  THE  PROFITEERS 

reached  the  door,  he  hesitated  and  glanced  around 
towards  Wingate. 

"  Mr.  Wingate,"  he  said,  "  I  wish  to  hear  what 
the  docto"  has  to  say  concerning  Lord  Dredlinton's 
death,  but  I  also  wish  to  have  another  word  with  you 
before  you  leave  the  house.  Can  I  rely  upon  your 
waiting  here  for  me?  " 

"  I  give  you  my  word,"  Wingate  promised. 

"  I  shall  also  require  some  explanation,"  the  in- 
spector continued,  turning  to  Phipps  — 

"  Explanation  be  damned ! "  the  latter  inter- 
rupted furiously.  "  If  you  want  to  know  the  truth 
about  the  whole  business  —  " 

He  broke  off  suddenly.  His  eyes  seemed  fasci- 
nated by  the  slow  entry  of  Wingate's  hand  to  his 
pocket.  He  kicked  a  footstool  sullenly  on  one  side. 
The  inspector,  after  waiting  for  a  moment,  turned 
away. 

"  In  due  season,"  he  concluded,  "  I  shall  require 
to  hear  the  truth  from  both  of  you  gentlemen.  You 
seem  to  have  given  Scotland  Yard  a  great  deal  of 
unnecessary  trouble." 

The  telephone  bell  began  to  ring  as  the  door 
closed.  Wingate  took  up  the  receiver,  listened  for 
a  moment  and  passed  the  instrument  over  to  Phipps. 
The  latter  presently  replaced  the  receiver  upon  its 
hook  with  a  little  groan. 


THE  PROFITEERS  273 

"  You've  broken  us,"  he  announced  grimly. 

'  No  news  has  ever  given  me  greater  pleasure," 
Wingate  replied. 

Stanley  Rees  rose  to  his  feet. 

"We  are  not  prisoners  any  more,  I  suppose?" 
he  asked  sullenly.  "  I  am  going  home." 

"  There  is  nothing  to  detain  you,"  Wingate  re- 
plied politely,  "  unless  you  choose  to  take  breakfast 
first." 

"  We  want  no  more  of  your  hospitality,"  Phipps 
muttered.  "  You  will  hear  of  us  again !  " 

Wingate  stood  between  them  and  the  door. 

"  Listen,"  he  said.  "  You  are  going  away,  I  can 
see,  with  one  idea  in  your  mind.  You  have  held 
your  peace  during  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour,  be- 
cause you  have  known  that  your  lives  would  be 
forfeit  if  you  told  the  truth,  but  you  are  saying  to 
yourselves  now  that  from  the  shelter  of  other  walls 
you  can  tell  your  story." 

There  was  a  furtive  look  in  Rees'  eyes,  a  guilty 
twitch  on  his  companion's  mouth.  Wingate  smiled. 
"  You  cannot,"  he  continued,  "  by  the  wildest 
stretch  of  imagination,  believe  that  this  has  been  a 
one-man  job.  The  whole  scheme  of  your  conveyance 
into  Dredlinton  House  and  into  this  room  has  neces- 
sitated the  employment  of  something  like  twenty 
men.  The  greater  part  of  these,  of  course,  have 


274  THE  PROFITEERS 

been    paid    by    me.     One    or    two    are    volunteers." 

"  Volunteers  ? "  Phipps  exclaimed.  "  Do  you 
mean  that  you  could  find  men  to  do  your  dirty  work 
for  nothing?  " 

"  I  found  men,"  Wingate  answered  sternly,  "  and 
I  could  find  many  more  —  and  without  payment, 
too  —  who  were  willing  to  enter  into  any  scheme 
directed  against  you  and  your  company." 

"  Are  we  to  stand  here,"  Phipps  demanded, 
"  whilst  you  preach  us  a  sermon  about  our  business 
methods  ?  " 

"  I  am  afraid,  for  your  own  sakes,  you  must  hear 
what  I  have  to  say  before  you  go,"  Wingate  re- 
plied. "  I  will  put  it  in  as  few  words  as  possible. 
If  you  give  the  show  away,  besides  making  your- 
selves the  laughingstocks  of  the  world  you  may  live 
for  twenty-four  hours  if  my  people  are  unlucky,  but 
I  give  you  my  word  of  honour,  Phipps  —  and  I  will 
do  you  the  credit  of  believing  that  you  recognise 
truth  when  you  come  across  it  —  that  you  will  both 
of  you  be  dead  before  the  dawn  of  the  second  da}7." 

Phipps  leaned  against  the  back  of  a  chair.  He 
seemed  to  have  aged  ten  years  in  the  last  few  days. 

"  You  threaten  us  with  the  vengeance  of  some 
secret  society  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  Not  so  very  secret,  either,"  Wingate  rejoined, 
"  but  if  you  want  to  know  the  truth,  I  will  tell  it 


THE  PROFITEERS  275 

you.  The  greatest  problem  which  we  had  to  face, 
in  arranging  this  little  escapade,  was  how  we  should 
keep  you  silent  after  your  release.  We  could  think 
of  none  but  primitive  means,  and  those  primitive 
means  are  established.  There  are  five  men,  each  of 
them  men  who  have  been  ruined  by  the  operations 
of  your  company,  who  have  sworn  to  take  your  lives 
if  you  should  divulge  the  truth  as  to  your  detention 
here.  They  are  men  of  their  word  and  they  will  do 
it.  That  is  the  position,  gentlemen.  I  will  not  de- 
tain you  any  longer." 

Phipps  moistened  his  dry  lips. 

"  If,"  he  said,  "  we  decide  to  hold  our  peace  about 
the  happenings  of  the  last  few  days,  it  will  not  be 
because  of  your  threats." 

"  So  long  as  you  hold  your  peace,"  Wingate  re- 
plied drily,  "  I  have  no  desire  to  question  your  mo- 
tives. Believe  me,  though,  silence,  and  silence  alone, 
will  preserve  your  lives." 

He  opened  the  door  and  they  passed  out  of  the 
room,  Phipps  stumbling  a  little,  as  though  blinded 
by  the  unexpected  sunshine  which  streamed  through 
the  skylight  in  the  hall.  From  the  shadows  beyond, 
Grant  came  suddenly  into  evidence. 

"  Breakfast  is  served  in  the  dining  room,"  he  an- 
nounced respectfully. 

A  flickering  anger  seemed  suddenly  to  blaze  up  in 


276  THE  PROFITEERS 

Stanley  Rees.  He  cast  a  furious  glance  at  the 
man  whose  fingers  had  twisted  their  imprisoning 
cords. 

"  Open  the  door,"  he  snarled,  "  and  let  us  get  out 
of  this  damned  house !  " 

Almost  before  the  front  door  had  closed  upon 
Phipps  and  his  nephew,  Inspector  Shields  descended 
the  stairs,  crossed  the  hall,  made  his  way  down  the 
passage,  and  silently  entered  the  room  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  the  tragedy.  Wingate  was  stand- 
ing in  the  midst  of  the  debris  at  the  far  end  of  the 
apartment,  directing  the  operations  of  a  servant 
whom  he  had  summoned.  Shields  held  up  his  hand. 

"  Stop,  please,"  he  ordered  quietly. 

The  two  men  both  looked  around. 

"  I  was  just  having  the  room  cleared  up,"  Win- 
gate  explained. 

"  Presently,"  was  the  curt  reply.  "  Please  send 
the  man  away.  I  want  a  word  with  you  alone." 

The  pseudo-servant  lingered,  his  eyes  fixed  upon 
Wingate's  face.  He,  too,  was  an  underling  of 
Grant's,  —  a  keen,  intelligent-looking  man,  with 
broad  shoulders  and  a  powerful  face.  Wingate 
nodded  understandingly. 

"  I  will  ring  if  I  need  you,  John,"  he  said  quietly. 

The  man  left  the  room.  Wingate  sat  upon  the 
arm  of  an  easy-chair.  Shields  stood  looking  medita- 


THE  PROFITEERS  277 

lively  about  him,  his  hands  thrust  deep  into  his  coat 
pockets. 

"  What  is  the  physician's  report? "  the  former 
asked. 

The  inspector  seemed  to  come  back  from  a  brown 
study. 

"  Ah!  Upon  Lord  Dredlinton?  A  very  good  re- 
port from  your  point  of  view,  Mr.  Wingate.  Lord 
Dredlinton's  death  was  due  to  exhaustion,  but  the 
doctor  certifies  that  he  was  suffering,  and  has  been 
for  some  time,  from  advanced  valvular  disease  of  the 
heart." 

"  He  had  not  the  appearance,"  Wingate  observed, 
"  of  being  a  healthy  man." 

"  He  certainly  was  not,"  Shields  admitted.  "  On 
the  other  hand,  with  great  care  he  might  have  lived 
for  some  time.  The  immediate  cause  of  his  death 
was  the  strain  of  —  what  shall  we  call  it,  Mr.  Win- 
gate —  this  orgy?" 

"An  excellent  word,"  Wingate  agreed,  his  eyes 
fixed  upon  his  companion. 

The  inspector  lifted  one  of  the  packs  of  cards 
which  had  been  dashed  upon  the  table  and  looked  at 
them  thoughtfully. 

"  Poker,"  he  murmured.  "  By  the  by,  where  are 
the  chips?  " 

"  The  chips  ?  "  Wingate  repeated. 


278  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  Poker  is  one  of  those  games,  I  believe,  which  ne- 
cessitates the  use  of  counters  or  the  handling  of  a 
great  deal  of  money."  i 

Wihgate  shrugged  his  shoulders.  He  made  no 
reply.  Shields  took  up  one  of  the  bottles  of  cham- 
pagne, held  it  to  the  light,  poured  out  the  remainder 
of  its  contents,  and  gazed  with  an  air  of  surprise  at 
the  froth  which  crept  up  the  glass. 

"  Dear  me !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  do  not  know  much 
about  champagne,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  this  has 
not  been  opened  very  long.  By  the  by,  you  all 
drank  champagne  ?  "  he  went  on.  "  I  see  no  trace 
of  any  spirits  about." 

"  It  was  one  of  Lord  Dredlinton's  hobbies,"  Win- 
gate  declared.  "  Spirits  are  very  seldom  served  in 
this  house." 

The  inspector  nodded.  He  had  crossed  to  the 
sideboard  and  was  looking  into  the  contents  of  a 
great  bowl  of  flowers. 

"  I  never  heard,"  he  reflected,  "  that  roses  did 
well  in  champagne.  Let  me  see,"  he  proceeded, 
counting  the  empty  bottles,  "  four  bottles  between 
four  of  you,  the  contents  of  at  least  two  bottles 
here,  and  —  dear  me,  the  carnations,  too !  "  he  went 
on,  peering  into  a  further  bowl.  "  Really,  Mr.  Win- 
gate,  your  orgy  scarcely  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
drink." 


THE  PROFITEERS  279 

"  Perhaps  it  was  not,"  was  the  resigned  reply. 

The  inspector  sighed. 

"  I  have  seldom,"  he  pronounced,  looking  fixedly 
at  his  companion,  "  seen  a  more  amateurish  piece  of 
work  than  the  arrangement  of  this  so-called  debauch. 
It  seems  pitiable,  Mr.  Wingate,  that  a  man  with 
brains  like  yours  should  have  sought  to  deceive  in  so 
puerile  a  fashion." 

"What  is  this  leading  up  to?"  Wingate  de- 
manded. 

The  inspector  drew  a  little  pamphlet  from  his 
pocket  and  passed  it  across.  Wingate  took  it 
into  his  hands,  opened  it  and  stared  at  it  in  sur- 
prise. 

"  A  list  of  Cunard  sailings  !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  One  of  the  safest  of  lines,"  said  Shields,  with  a 
nod.  "  The  Agricola  sails  to-morrow  morning. 
The  boat  train,  I  believe,  leaves  Euston  at  four." 

Wingate  glanced  from  the  sailing  list  to  his  com- 
panion. The  inspector  was  making  movements  as 
though  about  to  depart.  Wingate  himself  was 
speechless. 

"  The  physician  is  able  to  certify,"  Shields  went 
on,  "  that  Lord  Dredlinton's  death  is  due  to  natural 
causes.  There  will  therefore  be  no  inquest.  That 
being  the  case,  it  is  not  my  business  to  make  enquiries 
—  unless  I  choose." 


28o  THE  PROFITEERS 

A  newsboy  went  shouting  across  the  square.  The 
two  men  heard  distinctly  his  hoarse  cry: 

"  Great  fall  of  wheat  in  every  market !  Cheap 
bread  next  week !  " 

The  eyes  of  the  two  men  met.  There  was  almost 
a  smile  upon  Shields'  thin  lips  as  he  turned  towards 
the  door. 

"  And  I  do  not  choose,"  he  concluded. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

Peter  Phipps  and  his  nephew  dined  together  on  the 
last  night  of  the  year  at  a  well-chosen  table  at  Giro's 
restaurant  in  Monte  Carlo.  There  were  long- 
necked  and  gold-foiled  bottles  upon  the  table  and  a 
menu  which  had  commanded  the  respect  of  the  maitre 
d'hotel  whose  province  it  was  to  supply  their  wants. 
Nevertheless,  neither  of  the  two  men  had  the  appear- 
ance of  being  entirely  satisfied  with  life. 

"  Those  figures  from  the  Official  Receiver,"  Phipps 
remarked,  as  he  filled  his  glass  with  wine  and  passed 
the  bottle  across  the  table,  "  are  scarcely  what  we 
had  a  right  to  expect,  eh,  Stanley?  " 

"  They  are  simply  scandalous,"  Rees  declared 
gloomily.  "  One  does  not  speculate  with  one's  own 
money.  I  should  have  thought  that  any  one  with 
the  least  knowledge  of  finance  would  understand 
that.  This  man  seems  to  think  he  has  a  lien  upon 
our  private  fortunes." 

"  Not  only  that,"  Peter  Phipps  groaned,  "  but 
he's  attaching  as  much  as  he  can  get  hold  of.  And 
to  think  of  that  old  devil,  Skinflint  Martin,  scenting 


282  THE  PROFITEERS 

the  trouble  and  getting  off  to  Buenos  Ayres!  The 
best  part  of  half  a  million  he  got  off  with.  Pig !  — 
Stanley,  this  may  be  our  last  season  at  Monte  Carlo. 
We  shall  have  to  draw  in.  Every  year  it  gets  more 
difficult  to  make  money." 

"  One  month  more  of  the  British  and  Imperial," 
Stanley  Rees  sighed,  "  and  we  should  both  have  been 
millionaires." 

"  And  as  it  is,"  his  uncle  groaned,  "  I  am  begin- 
ning to  get  a  little  nervous  about  our  hotel  bill." 

With  a  benedictory  wave  of  his  hand,  an  all-wel- 
coming smile,  and  a  backward  progress  which  sug- 
gested distinction  bordering  upon  royalty,  the  chief 
motive  d'hotel  ushered  his  distinguished  patrons  to 
the  table  which  had  been  reserved  for  them.  Jo- 
sephine looked  across  the  little  sea  of  her  favourite 
blue  gentians  and  smiled  at  her  husband. 

"  You  remember  always,"  she  murmured. 

Wingate,  who  was  standing  up  until  his  guests 
were  seated,  flashed  an  answering  smile.  At  his 
right  hand  was  a  French  princess,  who  was  Jo- 
sephine's godmother;  at  his  left  Sarah,  lately  glori- 
fied to  married  estate.  An  English  Cabinet  Minister 
and  an  American  diplomatist,  with  their  wives,  and 
Jimmy,  completed  the  party.  No  one  noticed  the 
two  men  at  the  little  table  near  the  wall. 


THE  PROFITEERS  283 

"  You  are  a  magician,"  the  Princess  whispered  to 
Wingate.  "  Never  could  I  have  believed  that  my 
dear  Josephine  would  become  young  again.  They 
speak  of  her  already  as  the  most  beautiful  woman 
on  the  Riviera,  and  with  reason.  I  am  proud  of  my 
godchild.  And  they  tell  me  that  you,"  she  went 
on,  "  have  done  great  things  in  the  world  of  finance, 
as  well  as  in  the  underworld  of  politics.  Those  are 
worlds,  alas ! "  she  added,  with  a  little  sigh,  "  of 
which  I  know  nothing." 

"  They  are  worlds,"  Wingate  replied,  "  which 
exist  more  on  paper  than  anywhere  else." 

"  Is  it  true,  Wingate,"  the  Cabinet  Minister 
asked  him  curiously,  "  that  it  was  you  who  broke 
the  British  and  Imperial  Granaries?  " 

"  If  there  is  such  a  thing,"  Wingate  answered  with 
a  smile,  "  as  a  world  of  underground  politics  —  the 
Princess  herself  coined  the  phrase  —  then  I  think  I 
may  claim  that  what  passed  between  me  and  the 
directors  of  that  company  is  secret  history.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  though,  I  think  I  was  to  some  ex- 
tent responsible  for  smashing  that  horrible  syndi- 
cate." 

"  It  ought  never  to  have  been  allowed  to  flourish," 
the  Minister  pronounced.  "  Its  charter  was  cun- 
ningly devised  to  cheat  our  laws,  and  it  succeeded. 
After  all,  though,  it  is  good  to  think  that  the  days 


284  THE  PROFITEERS 

when  such  an  institution  could  live  for  a  moment 
have  passed.  Labour  and  the  reconstructionists 
have  joined  hands  in  sane  legislation.  It  is  my  be- 
lief that  for  the  next  few  decades,  at  any  rate,  the 
British  Empire  and  America  —  for  the  two  move 
now  hand  in  hand  —  are  entering  upon  a  period  of 
world  supremacy." 

The  American  diplomatist  had  something  to  say. 

"  For  that,"  he  declared,  "  we  may  be  thankful  to 
those  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  militarism. 
Industrial  triumphs  were  never  possible  under  its 
shadow.  An  era  of  prosperity  will  also  be  an  era 
of  peace." 

"For  how  long,  I  wonder?"  the  Princess  whis- 
pered. "  Human  nature  has  shown  remarkably  lit- 
tle change  through  all  the  ages.  Don't  you  think 
that  some  day  soon  one  person  will  have  what  an- 
other covets,  and  the  world  will  rock  again  to  the 
clash  of  arms?  " 

"  We  are  all  selfish,"  Josephine  murmured. 
"  Life  closes  in  around  us,  and  we  are  mostly  con- 
cerned with  what  may  happen  in  our  own  time.  I 
think  that  for  as  long  as  we  live,  peace  is  assured." 

"  I  am  sure  I  hope  so,"  Sarah  declared.  "  I 
should  hate  Jimmy  to  have  to  go  and  fight  again." 

"What  sort  of  a  husband  does  he  make?  "  Win- 
gate  enquired. 


THE  PROFITEERS  285 

"  Wonderful ! "  Sarah  acknowledged  with  em- 
phasis. "  He  has  developed  gifts  of  which  I  had  not 
the  slightest  apprehension.  Of  course,  Josephine 
would  scratch  me  if  I  ventured  upon  such  a  thing  as 
comparison,  so  I'll  be  content  with  saying  that  I 
think  we  are  both  very  happy  women." 

Josephine  laughed  gaily.  The  almost  peachlike 
bloom  of  girlhood  had  come  back  to  her  cheeks. 
She  wore  a  rope  of  pearls,  her  husband's  wedding 
gift,  which  had  belonged  to  an  Empress,  and  her 
white  gown  was  the  chef  d'oeuvre  of  a  great  French 
artiste's  most  wonderful  season.  She  looked  across 
the  table.  How  was  it,  she  wondered,  with  a  little 
glad  thrill,  that  the  eyes  for  which  she  sought  seemed 
always  waiting  for  hers. 

"  We   are  very  lucky  women,"   she  said  simply. 

Phipps  bit  the  end  off  his  cigar  a  little  savagely. 
He  had  been  casting  longing  glances  towards  the 
table  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  with  its  brilliant 
company. 

"  So  that  is  the  end  of  my  duel  with  Wingate,"  he 
muttered.  "  I  wonder  whether  it  would  be  worth 
while." 

"Whether  what  would  be  worth  while?"  his 
nephew  asked. 

Phipps  made  no  direct  reply.  He  rose  instead 
to  his  feet. 


286  THE  PROFITEERS 

"  I  am  going  back  to  my  room  at  the  hotel  for 
a  moment,  Stanley,  to  fetch  something,"  he  confided. 
"  Order  some  more  of  the  Napoleon  brandy.  I 
shall  perhaps  need  it  when  I  come  back." 

The  young  man  nodded,  and  Peter  Phipps  started 
on  his  way  to  the  door.  He  had  to  pass  the  table  at 
which  Wingate  was  presiding,  and  it  chanced  that 
Josephine,  looking  up,  met  his  eyes.  There  was  a 
moment's  hesitation  in  her  mind.  Women  are  always 
merciful  when  happy.  Josephine  was  very  happy, 
and  Peter  Phipps  showed  signs  in  his  bearing  and 
in  the  lines  upon  his  face  that  he  was  not  the  man 
of  six  months  ago.  She  smiled  very  slightly  and 
bowed,  a  greeting  which  Phipps  returned  with  a 
smile  which  was  almost  of  gratitude.  The  Cabinet 
Minister,  who  had  met  Phipps  and  remembered  lit- 
tle of  his  history,  followed  Josephine's  lead ;  also  the 
American,  who  had  known  him  in  New  York.  Phipps 
was  holding  his  head  a  little  higher  as  he  went  out. 

In  ten  minutes  he  returned.  He  carried  a  small 
packet  in  his  hand,  which  he  laid  down  before  his 
nephew. 

"  Try  one,"  he  invited. 

Stanley  Rees  withdrew  one  of  the  long  cigars  from 
its  paper  covering. 

"  Did  you  go  all  the  way  back  to  the  hotel  to 
fetch  these?  "  he  asked  incredulously. 


THE  PROFITEERS  287 

Phipps  shook  his  head. 

"  I  went  to  fetch  my  revolver,"  he  said.  "  I 
meant  to  shoot  Wingate.  But  did  you  see  her, 
Stanley  ?  She  nodded  to  me  —  actually  smiled !  " 

"  What  of  it  ?  "  the  young  man  asked. 

"  You're  a  fool,"  his  uncle  replied.  "  Pass  the 
brandy." 


THE   END 


NOVELS  by  E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 


"He  is  past  master  of  the  art  of  telling  a  story.  He 
has  humor,  a  keen  sense  of  the  dramatic,  and  a  knack 
of  turning  out  a  happy  ending  just  when  the  compli- 
cations of  the  plot  threaten  worse  disasters." — New  York 
Times. 

Mr.  Oppenheim  has  few  equals  among  modern 
novelists.  He  is  prolific,  he  is  untiring  in  the  invention 
of  mysterious  plots,  he  is  a  clever  weaver  of  the  plausible 
with  the  sensational,  and  he  has  the  necessary  gift  cf 
facile  narrative." — Boston  Transcript. 


A  Prince  of  Sinners 

Mysterious  Mr.  Sabin 

The  Master  Mummer 

A  Maker  of  History 

The  Malefactor 

A  Millionaire  of  Yesterday 

The  Man  and  His  Kingdom 

The  Yellow  Crayon 

A  Sleeping  Memory 

A  Lost  Leader 

The  Great  Secret 

The  Avenger 

The  Long  Arm  of  Mannister 

The  Governors 

Jeanne  of  the  Marshes 

The  Illustrious  Prince 

The  Lost  Ambassador 

A  Daughter  of  the  Marionis 

Berenice 

Havoc 


The  Lighted  Way 

The  Survivor 

A  People's  Man 

The  Vanished  Messenger 

Mr.  Grex  of  Monte  Carlo 

The  Double  Traitor 

The  Way  of  These  Women 

Mr.  Marx's  Secret 

An  Amiable  Charlatan 

The  Kingdom  of  tha  Blind 

The  Hillman 

The  Cinema  Murder 

The  Pawns  Count 

The  Zeppelin's  Passenger 

The  Curious  Quest 

The  Wicked  Marquis 

The  Box  with  Broken  Seals 

The  Great  Impersonation 

The  Devil's  Paw 

Jacob's  Ladder 


LITTLE,  BROWN  &  CO.,  Publishers,  BOSTON 


The  Best  Story  Oppenheim  Ever  Wrote! 


THE  GREAT 
IMPERSONATION 


By  E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 

With  illustrations  by  Nana  French  Bickford 
12mo.     Cloth.     322  pages. 


"No  more  successful  mystery  story  was  ever  written  than 
'The  Great  Impersonation.'  It  is  indeed  a  triumph  of  con- 
struction and  treatment  that  holds  the  attention  of  the  reader 
from  first  to  last." — Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

"  'The  Great  Impersonation'  is  a  thoroughly  good  story  with 
an  ingenious  plot,  and  a  series  of  exciting  episodes  that  recall 
A.  Conan  Doyle  of  the  days  when  he  was  writing  about  Sher- 
lock Holmes."—  The  New  York  Tribune. 

"For  ingenuity  of  plot  and  cleverness  of  treatment,  it  is 
a  masterpiece  among  contemporary  mystery  stories." — The 
Boston  Ekrald. 

"Mr.  Oppenheim,  well  established  master  of  mystery,  has  in 
The  Great  Impersonation'  outdone  himself  in  his  exploitation 
of  the  hitherto  unsuspected." —  The  New  York  World. 

"'The  Great  Impersonation*  will  be,  and  will  deserve  to  be, 
one  of  the  best  sellers  of  the  year." —  The  Boston  Post. 


LITTLE,  BROWN  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS 

34  BEACON  STBEET,  BOSTON 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


A     000127315     o 


